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New campaign exposes hidden peat in retail products

Consumers urged to avoid houseplants grown in precious peat

Today, The Wildlife Trusts launch a new campaign to raise awareness of hidden peat in retail products. Many consumers are aware of the environmental dangers of using peat – both to wildlife and to the climate – and so they avoid buying peat-based composts. But some people may be inadvertently buying peat-based products without realising that it is often used as a growing medium for houseplants, leafy salads and mushrooms.  

The Hidden Peat campaign will help to increase consumer understanding of peat-based products and help more people understand the pressures UK peatlands face, such as those in Somerset which are being dug up for use in horticulture.  

 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 the end of this Parliament. 

Many consumers across the UK are now aware that choosing peat-free composts protects precious habitats and have made the switch to alternative growing mediums. Major retailers including the Co-op and B&Q have already phased out sales of bagged peat compost in anticipation of a ban.  

The UK Government has committed to bring about an end to all uses of peat in England by 2030 – but again, this will not happen without legislation. 

Peat © Mark Hamblin 2020VISION

Mark Hamblin/2020VISION

Sara Booth-Card, peatlands campaigner for The Wildlife Trusts, says:  

We’re urging everyone to look carefully for ‘hidden peat’ when shopping – and to help keep peat in bogs not bags. It’s important that consumers are able to make informed choices about their food and plants until the ban on peat-based products is enacted. It’s also vital that the promise to ban peat-containing compost is met as soon as possible, because peatlands are crucial in our fight against climate change and are home to amazing plants and animals that are found nowhere else on Earth.”  

The Wildlife Trusts are asking consumers to back the call for:  

  • Clear labelling to allow shoppers to easily identify peat-containing products, allowing them to make informed choices
  • Transparency from retailers on their commitment to removing peat from their supply chains 

Meanwhile, The Wildlife Trusts continue to call upon the UK Government to: 

  • Ban the extraction and sale of peat and peat-containing products  

  • Ramp-up ambition and action to restore the UK’s peatlands, 80% of which are currently damaged 

Sara Booth-Card continues:

“Peatlands are the UK’s largest terrestrial carbon-store. They provide vital habitat for wildlife such as the UK’s very own carnivorous sundew plant, and sponge-like sphagnum mosses which can hold up to twenty times their own weight in water. Healthy lowland peatlands not only deliver huge benefits for nature and for climate; they also provide important ecosystem services to our society by acting as floodplains, holding back water during storms and protecting homes and businesses against flooding. 

“We know that consumers who care about wildlife won’t want to inadvertently contribute to the destruction of peatlands – that is why greater transparency is so important.” 

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.

See The Wildlife Trusts’ Hidden Peat campaign here.

Editor’s notes

​​​​​​​The original version of this press release urged consumers to avoid mushrooms grown in peat. However, we have since discovered that most mushrooms are grown in peat and it is very hard to source mushrooms that have been grown in alternative composts – so this guidance has been removed. Alternative growing mediums are being developed and we hope to see them available soon. 

  • Join 4,696 others who have already made the pledge to go peat-free here. 
  • 2021 Growing Media Monitor data – see here.  Every year emissions from degraded peatlands are equivalent to the carbon footprints of over 1.9 (1.99) million British citizens – peatland emissions: 23.1 Mt CO2e/year – see here. Carbon footprint of average UK citizen based on UK consumption emissions of 774Mt CO2e/year and a UK population of 66,796,807 – see here and here. 
  • The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet, with the loss of critical habitats like peatlands driving further nature declines. The Wildlife Trusts are working to ensure natural habitats, such as peatlands, play a key role in tackling the nature and climate crises. Across England alone, Trusts have collectively restored over 50,000 hectares of peatland, equivalent to 123,000 football pitches. These activities are putting nature on a path to recovery whilst helping to halt the vast quantities of CO2 that degraded peatlands are emitting into our already warming atmosphere. See State of Nature 2023 - report on the UK’s current biodiversity. Up to 31 million tonnes of CO2 released by peat extraction since 1990 – see Peat use summary 1990-2020, The Wildlife Trusts.pdf

Further references:   

  • ‘Peat sales to be banned by 2024’ says UK Government, The Wildlife Trusts, August 2022. Available here 
  • Devastating climate impact of using peat in UK horticulture revealed, The Wildlife Trusts, February 2022. Available here 
  • Governments set low bar on phase out of gardeners’ use of peat, The Wildlife Trusts, December 2021. Available here 

For more information about peat, download a free copy of Greener Gardening: Perfecting Peat-Free at: Download our guide to going peat-free | The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trusts and peatland restoration

Peatland importance 

80% of the UK’s peatlands are now degraded as a direct result of damaging practices such as drainage for agriculture, burning and peat extraction for horticulture. Peatlands are important for biodiversity, home to a host of highly specialised and rare species – from the carnivorous plant, sundew, to Red-listed birds as well as reptiles, amphibians, insects and mammals. It is the lack of protections afforded to habitats like peatlands which has propelled the loss of almost 50% of the UK’s biodiversity. Peatlands are also crucial carbon stores, locking away over three billion tonnes of carbon in the UK alone. However, when peatlands are damaged, this carbon is released. Today, emissions from peatlands make up 4% of all UK annual greenhouse gas emissions, and the UK is a world leader in emissions from degraded peatlands. To put this into context, every year emissions from degraded peatlands are equivalent to the carbon footprints of over 1.9 million British citizens. 

The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trusts are making the world wilder and helping to ensure that nature is part of everyone’s lives. We are a grassroots movement of 46 charities with more than 910,000 members and 35,000 volunteers. No matter where you are in Britain, there is a Wildlife Trust inspiring people and saving, protecting and standing up for the natural world. With the support of our members, we care for and restore over 2,000 special places for nature on land and run marine conservation projects and collect vital data on the state of our seas. Every Wildlife Trust works within its local community to inspire people to create a wilder future – from advising thousands of landowners on how to manage their land to benefit wildlife, to connecting hundreds of thousands of school children with nature every year. www.wildlifetrusts.org

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