All four Nations of the UK have been working towards peat-free legislation for years- but how far back does it go, and how close are we now? Find out just how long the UK’s horticulture industry has been waiting for an end to peat sales.
1999: UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) for raised bogs sets a target for the UK horticultural sector to be 90% peat-free by 2010
2011: Just 32% of horticultural products (eg compost and plants) on the market are peat-free – a long way from the goal of 90% as set out by the BAP.
The UK Government sets a voluntary deadline for phasing out peat and peat-containing products in England for local councils by 2015, the amateur sector by 2020 and professional use by 2030
2012: Peatland ACTION programme is launched by Scottish Government to promote peatland restoration across Scotland
2015: NatureScot publishes Scotland’s first national peatland plan
2020: The deadline for the voluntary phase out for the amateur sector is missed. The Growing Media Monitor showed 2.06 million cubic metres of peat in growing media was sold in the UK in 2019, a decrease of only 25% by volume since 2011 (2.76 million cubic metres).
The Climate Change Committee calls for an end to all extraction of peat in the UK by 2023.
Natural Resources Wales launches The National Peatland Action Programme, a 5-year programme of peatland restoration in Wales.
2021: Defra launches a consultation on ending the retail sale of peat in horticulture in England and Wales. The result shows 95.5% of participants in support of a retail sales ban on peat and peat-containing products in England and Wales.
A petition is brought to the Senedd Cymru to ban the use of peat in horticulture and all growing media by 2023. The petition received 1,014 signatures.
Daera conducts a Peatland Strategy consultation. Results show support from respondents on a prompt review of peat use, with some suggesting action should be taken immediately.
2022: The UK Government accepts the voluntary approach has failed. It announces its intention to bring in legislation to ban the sale of horticultural peat for amateur gardeners ‘by 2024’.
Northern Ireland Peatland Strategy 2022-2040 is published. Welsh Government announces that it will work with the UK Government to end the retail sale of peat for horticulture.
2023: Defra adds details of exemptions for professional growers, giving them until 2026 to end peat use with more time for growers of specialist plants leading to a full ban in 2030.
Scottish Government opens consultation to end the sale of peat in Scotland. They propose to ban the sale of peat in stages, beginning with the retail horticulture sector and then follow with a ban for the horticulture sector. Responses to the consultation overall support a ban on the sale of peat and peat-containing products in Scotland in the next few years.
Considering commitment to work with UK Government to end the sale of peat, Welsh Government close 2021 petition to ban the use of peat in horticulture and all growing media by 2023 and congratulate petitioner on successful outcome.
April 2024: Former Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers MP introduces her Horticultural Peat (Prohibition of Sale) Bill to Westminster under the 10 Minute Rule for Private Members’ Bills.
May 2024: UK Government calls a general election and Theresa Villiers’s Private Members Bill is dropped, just a week away from its second reading.
September 2024: 100+ horticultural businesses, eNGOs and other supporters sign an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer demanding legislation to end the sale of peat for horticulture without delay
November 2024: Sarah Dyke MP introduces her Horticultural Peat (Prohibition of Sale) Bill, again under the 10 Minute Rule for Private Members’ Bills, in Westminster
January 2025: The deadline to end retail peat sales for horticulture by 2024 passes with no legislation in any of the four UK nations
Every day legislation continues to be pushed back, extraction of peat for horticulture continues to devastate our precious peatlands, contributing to climate change and ruining one of our best natural defences against flooding and water pollution. Read more on how you can help below.