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Help us ban peat sales

The devastation of peat extraction on Little Woolden Moss in Manchester

Defra has finally launched the long-awaited consultation into banning the retail sale of peat in horticulture in England and Wales. We need as many responses as possible to help end this unnecessary and destructive practice.

The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside has long been campaigning to protect our precious peatlands, and working to restore those that we have right here on our doorstep. We know that many of our members and supporters have been backing us in this fight, with more and more people going peat-free in their gardens. But now we can do even more.

When the England Peat Plan was launched in May 2021, it promised a consultation into banning the retail sales of peat, and even though it took until the 18th December 2021 for it to arrive, it’s finally here – and we can all do our bit.

We have created a simple to use e-action to help everyone respond to the consultation - https://action.wildlifetrusts.org/page/98699/action/1 

You can also view and submit your responses to the consultation directly at https://consult.defra.gov.uk/soils-and-peatlands/endingtheretailsaleofpeatinhorticulture/.

The consultation includes a whopping 27 questions, but not all of these would apply to amateur gardeners, which is why we have created the e-action, but please remember that every additional voice speaking up in favour of a total ban really could make a difference.

Cottongrass - Little Woolden Moss

Little Woolden Moss is a rare fragment on lowland raised peat bog in Greater Manchester and a former peat extraction site - Tim Prevett

Why does peat matter?

 

You may be wondering what all the fuss is about, what’s the problem with using a bit of peat in our gardens?

Globally peatlands store twice as much carbon as all of the world’s, and when they are healthy they are able to sequester further carbon from the atmosphere locking it away in their peaty soils for millennia. This makes peatlands one of our most important natural resources in our fight to address the climate emergency.

Yellow digger extracts black peat against desolate background

Little Woolden Moss during commercial peat extraction for use in the horticultural industry

However, as soon as peatlands are damaged in any way that carbon gets released, oxidising to form CO2, a harmful greenhouse gas, which is actually contributing to global heating. In fact, five per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from damaged peatlands – that’s more than shipping and aviation combined.

Peatlands also provide homes for lots of wonderful wildlife, helping address our biodiversity crisis, not to mention providing natural flood mitigation, drinking water filtration and reducing the risk of wildfires.

Yet, many of our peatlands are still being drained and dug up simply so that the peat can be used to fill cheap bags of compost and grow potted plants. The UK alone uses over 2 million m3 per year of peat in the horticultural industry.

Clearly this has to stop – and now you can help to do it.

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