Our precious peatlands are constantly under threat from the devastating impact of horticulture, which destroys irreplaceable habitats for wildlife, whilst also contributing to our climate crisis. The peat that is extracted from our bogs can be used in multiple ways and its use in products can be sneakily hidden away from us.

In 2022, the UK Government announced that it would ban the sale of bagged peat compost in England by 2024. Progress towards this has stalled and there is currently no legislation in place to achieve the promised ban. It is looking increasingly unlikely that the UK Government will enact a ban before 2025, the end of this Parliament.

We are working hard to get the ban implemented, and in the meantime we have turned our attention to where peat might be hiding in other products, so we can make our own conscious decision before buying them.

Where is peat hiding?

The main suspects for hidden peat are potted plants. The soil which these plants are grown in can contain peat and this information is typically not labelled. Sold in supermarkets, garden centres and a multitude of online retailers, most of these products will have been grown and sold in compost containing peat.

Research by The Wildlife Trusts revealed that peat extraction for use in horticulture has caused up to 31 million tonnes of CO2 to be released since 1990 – that’s equivalent to a car driving 80 million miles, or to the moon and back 175 times.

What can we do?

Ideally, any lover of the natural world would avoid buying peat products when possible, but we can’t always make this informed decision due to lack of labelling. 

Sarah Johnson, Head of Peatland Landscape Recovery at The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, said:

“We are calling for clearer labelling on products that contain or have been grown in peat, so that consumers can make an informed buying decision, and we can get the information that we need to finally get peat removed from supply chains. So we are asking people to sign up to be ‘Peat Inspectors’. When you are out and about at the garden centre or supermarket simply have a look and see how easy it is to find information on the peat use in products and let us know.”  

Which products are clearly labelled? Where did you find these products? These are some of the questions we need our Peat Inspectors to answer. This real-world data will help us figure out how bad the problem truly is and will help in our campaign to remove peat from the supply chain. 

Peat should be kept in our bogs and we can’t hang around and wait patiently for the bans to be implemented. Our climate, our environment, our wildlife need us to step up now, not later. Get involved and help us make a difference.

Sign up to become a 'Peat Inspector' today by clicking the link below.

Precious Peatlands | The Wildlife Trusts