4:50pm Thursday 24th March 2011
By Anne Connon
PEOPLE are being urged to join conservation groups and gardening suppliers in calling on the Government to introduce a levy on garden peat products.
Peat bogs are a vital carbon sink and the market for peat-based compost in the UK is responsible for 630,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year - the equivalent of an extra 300,000 cars on our roads. The majority of peat sold in the UK is imported from Ireland and Baltic countries.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds conservation director Mark Avery said: “It is incredible a product as damaging to our environment as peat is still being widely consumed in the UK.
Despite attempts to tackle this issue in the 1990s, little has been achieved aside from exporting damaging peat extraction overseas.”
According to Government figures, the cost to society of peat harvesting through carbon emissions alone is £11 per cubic metre, or around £32 million a year in the UK. This cost is not reflected in the price of peat, however a levy of around £1 on a regular-sized bag of peat-based compost would help address this.
With spring finally on the horizon, many people will soon be outdoors tidying their gardens ready for the new season - this is a time of year when peat sales have traditionally increased.
Government attempts to phase out peat over the past ten years have failed, and DEFRA is currently consulting over its new voluntary initiative with a target of phasing out horticultural peat over the next two decades.
However, the RSPB says this is neither strong enough nor soon enough and that a levy needs to be introduced to encourage consumers to use peat-free alternatives.
Money raised through the levy could provide vital funding for the restoration of damaged peat bogs.
Mr Avery said: “A financial incentive is vital if we are to change the behaviour of consumers and encourage the horticultural industry to invest in alternatives.
Studies have shown that peat-free composts work just as well. Kew Gardens is a notable example of a thriving peat-free garden.”
Catherine O’Connell, chief executive of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council, said: “Irish peat bogs are being torn apart to supply British gardeners. We’re now your major peat source.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/trade_directory/