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Gardeners Urged To Stop Using Peat-Based Compost

While turf cutting continues to be a controversial subject in Ireland, a new initiative to phase out the use of peat in compost was launched recently in the UK. In 1999 the Government aimed to eliminate peat from all but 10 per cent of compost by 2010, but it is still present in 46 per cent of the compost sold in Britain. Its extraction in the UK not only disturbs rare wildlife but also releases an estimated million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year about the same as from 175,000 cars.

In northern Europe, peat is being extracted quicker than it is renewed on moors and bogs. Some 38 per cent of peat sold in the UK is from native sources, with 56 per cent coming from Ireland and 6 per cent from the Baltic states.

The bogs take thousands of years to form, thickening by just a millimetre a year – far too slowly for them, and their wildlife, to keep up with the extraction. The mining also increases global warming by releasing carbon stored in the peat.

Despite the development of alternatives, peat still accounts for about half of the seed and potting compost market. Demand for such "growing media" has increased rapidly, spurred on by a ‘back to the Good Life’ surge in recent years : 75 million bags are sold each year.

Which? survey this year found that alternative composts performed better than peat for growing potatoes and flowers in pots. Alternatives include bark, green compost, wood waste, wood fibre and coir.

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