Who supplies the peat?
Where does the peat come from?
Has the market for peat alternatives
increased in recent years?
Why do people still buy peat?
Further Information and Resources
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% |
Table 2: Sources of peat supplied to all horticultural
markets in 2001 (m3)30
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
, www.peatalert.org.uk
Friends of the Earth
Have produced a briefing on peat extraction in the UK:
www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/last_chance_see.html