Third of all compost sold in UK is climate-damaging peat

theguardian.com:

More than a third of all compost sold in the UK in 2021 was peat dug from carbon-rich habitats, new data has revealed.

The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), which opposes a ban on peat sales, provided the figures in its response to a government consultation. The consultation proposes banning peat compost sales to gardeners by 2024 and ministers have said they aim to end sales to professional growers by 2028. An earlier voluntary goal of ending retail sales by 2020 failed.

Almost 5 million cubic metres of compost was sold in 2021, with three-quarters bought by gardeners. But while only 30% of their purchases were peat, more than half the compost bought by horticulture businesses was peat. Overall, peat made up 35% of sales, down from 41% in 2020.

Peatlands cover just 3% of the planet’s surface but hold twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests. The destruction and degradation of peatlands releases CO2 and drives the climate crisis. In the UK, 87% of peatlands are degraded and emit a combined 10m tonnes of CO2 a year.

Dianna Kopansky, from the Global Peatlands Initiative at UN Environment, praised the UK government’s intention to end retail sales in 2024 but added: “Further action is needed to reduce the 1.7 million cubic metres of peat sold annually in the UK.”

Monty Don, a gardener and broadcaster, said: “Peat extraction does great environmental harm [and] it is simply untrue that there are no viable alternatives. It is time for all gardeners to change, adapt, be creative and accept that our gardens are inextricably connected to the wider environmental landscape.”

In its consultation response, the HTA said an industry taskforce had pledged to end retail sales between 2025 and 2028 and horticultural sales between