Who supplies the peat?

Horticultural retailers
Most of the peat used by amateur gardeners comes from garden centres and DIY stores, although some supermarkets have also recently started selling peat based products. The garden centre industry, although traditionally fragmented, has seen some consolidation in recent years with Wyevale, Dobbies, Klondyke and Notcutts emerging as some of the main players in the sector. The main DIY groups with substantial gardening involvement are B&Q;, Homebase, and Focus Wickes.²⁶

According to Friends of the Earth B&Q;, Homebase, Focus and Wyevale have all agreed to phase-out peat-based products (although it is not clear what sort of time-scale this will involve). A number of companies that have recently started selling peat-based products have yet to agree to phase-out these products however. These include Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Safeway and Asda.²⁷ The names and addresses of the main peat suppliers to the amateur gardening market are detailed in Appendix 2.

Peat producers²⁸
The UK peat market is currently dominated by around 25 producers based in the UK and the Rebublic of Ireland. A map showing the names and locations of the main suppliers in Britain can be found in the centre pages of this briefing. Consumption of peat-based products formulated and mixed elsewhere in Europe is low at present but increasing. In the UK, peat processing sites are mainly found in Northern Ireland, the North West of England, the North East of England and in Somerset. There are no major peat processing operations in Scotland, Wales or the South East of England. The market leaders, in terms of supply, are Scotts²⁹, William Sinclair and Westland Horticulture.

The peat market is influenced considerably by the large DIY retailers and the garden centre chains which supply the vast majority of the peat used by amateur gardeners. Pricing is tight and competition very keen. The vast majority of peat based products are sold in the Spring. Demand at this time is so high that product cannot be made ‘just in time’. Production for the new season may begin as early as the previous autumn and packed product may be stored for six months before dispatch.

Where does the peat come from?

Table 2 and Figure 3 show the sources of peat supplied to all horticultural markets in 2001.

Source	Soil improvers	Growing media	Sub-total	%
UK	36,000	1,486,000	1,522,000	45%
Rep. of Ire	59,000	1,422,000	1,481,000	44%
Baltic	17,100	375,000	392,100	11%
Total	112,100	3,283,000	3,395,100	100%

In 2001, 45% of the peat consumed was produced in the UK. The Republic of Ireland supplied the majority of imported peat with the remaining proportion coming from the Baltic region. In the past the majority of imported peat was used by professional growers, with a large percentage of UK peat going to the amateur gardening market. However, large volumes of Baltic peat are now used in retail grow-bags and multi-purpose growing media.

The proportion of imported peat has increased considerably over the last two to three years and this trend is set to continue. It is thought that at least two thirds of Britain's indigenous peat supply will become unavailable in the relatively short term due to European nature conservation designations. The Baltic States are therefore likely to become increasingly important suppliers.

Peat production in the UK According to the British Geological Survey, as of April 2003, there are 113 active peat workings in the UK. Table 3 and Figure 4 show the number of sites in each region.

Table 3: Number of peat workings in the UK31

NE Eng	Yorks & Humber	NW Eng	East Eng	SW Eng	Wales	Scotland	Total
1	5	13	5	51	3	35	113

Figure 4 is rather deceptive since it implies that there is a large amount of peat extraction going on in Somerset and Scotland relative to the rest of Britain. In fact, the figures for these areas have been inflated by the existence of many small peat extraction sites.

In 2001, England accounted for 80% of the UK's peat production (1.5 million m3) and Scotland 20% (355 thousand m3). 414.8 million m3 of peat (worth £25.6 million) was imported and 35.6 million m3 (worth £3 million) exported.³²
In 2000, the area of peatland in the UK allocated for peat extraction stood at 5263 hectares.33 A map detailing all the known sites with planning permission for peat extraction can be found in the centre pages of this briefing. Further information regarding each of the sites can be found in Appendix 3.

Has the market for peat alternatives increased in recent years?

In recent years more and more amateur gardeners, landscapers, professional growers and local authorities have started to use peat free products as both soil improvers and growing media due to concern for the environment. For example, the use of alternative materials by amateur gardeners has grown by 50% since 1999.34 The use of growing media for raising plants remains a minor activity for landscape contractors. Nevertheless, there has been a noticeable switch from the use of peat to alternatives in growing media in this sector, with the use of alternatives increasing sevenfold over the period. The use of alternatives in growing media by professional growers has also increased by 63% since 1999.

This increase has been primarily driven by several of the major multiple retailers requiring their plant suppliers to move to 'reduced peat' growing media.³⁵ There is also a demand for peat-free plants and trees from some local authorities, however they have often encountered problems obtaining such plants if they are unwilling to pay a premium for them. Specific customers such as National Trust plant centres and gardens also require their suppliers to produce plants in peat-free or reduced peat substrates.

For most species it is possible to develop a blend of peat alternative materials that will produce satisfactory plants. Some larger nurseries have been investigating the use of peat alternatives, however the results are usually confidential in order that they can achieve a marketing advantage by supplying peat-free products.³⁶

Why do people still buy peat?

Amateur gardeners
Despite the fairly high awareness among amateur gardeners of the environmental impacts of peat use, many are still lured by the cheap peat offered by multiple retailers. In addition many peat based products are not marked as such. Some are marked as 'organic' - deceiving customers into believing that they are purchasing an environmentally friendly product.

Professional Growers
While there is a high level of interest in peat alternatives, many growers lack the confidence to move away from peat substrates immediately. This is partly due to lack of information and partly due to growers remembering the poorly formulated alternatives available in the early 1990s and not being aware that much better products are now on the market.

Further research and demonstration of the potential of peat alternatives would undoubtedly accelerate the pace of their adoption on commercial nurseries. French growers might be another useful source of information regarding peat alternatives, since growing media in France rely more on bark and composted materials.³⁷

Some alternative substrates are more expensive than peat, making growers reluctant to use them. An environmental tax reflecting the environmental costs associated with peat extraction could help increase the use of peat alternatives. When the Baltic States enter the EU the consequent change in conservation legislation in these countries is likely to result in a reduction in peat extraction which could lead to price rises. This could also make peat alternatives a more attractive proposition.³⁸

Further Information and Resources

Peat Alert
A group campaigning against peat extraction in the UK.
Contact:
Peat Alert
c/o CRC
16 Sholebroke Avenue
Leeds
LS7 3HB
email: info@peatalert.org.uk
web: www.peatalert.org.uk

Friends of the Earth
Have produced a briefing on peat extraction in the UK:
web: www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/last_chance_see.html