Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Damian Carrington Environment editor

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

A peat bog
A peat bog on Thorne Moors, part of the Humberhead Peatlands national nature reserve in South Yorkshire. Photograph: Les Gibbon/Alamy

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.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.