The Wildlife Trusts has released a statement calling on the UK government to put a ban on the use of peat in horticulture into law, exactly three years after it promised to ban the sale of horticultural peat by 2024. 

Legislation is yet to be passed, and The Wildlife Trusts has calculated that 859,660m3 of peat was dug up to supply amateur gardeners from 2022 to 2023.

Joan Edwards, director of policy and public affairs at The Wildlife Trusts says the ban is “absurdly overdue,” adding:

“The dither and delay over its implementation puts the UK’s climate and nature targets at risk and has entirely avoidable consequences for emissions, wildlife and water quality.”

Peatlands are an effective natural tool in managing the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events such as flooding and wildfires. Extracting peat from these areas releases huge quantities of carbon dioxide. 

Sarah Dyke will be conducting her second reading of the private member’s bill, the Horticultural Peat (Prohibition of Sale) Bill on 12 September.