The horticulture industriousness and government have welcomed datum that shows further decrease in the portion of peat used in growing media , acknowledge its importance to the sector ’s power to extradite vital works and Tree into UK ornamental horticulture .
For the first time since the data has been memorialize , it shows the amount of peat contained in grow spiritualist is less than 50 % .
Anew reportshows that between 2015 and 2019 the amount of peat check in growing medium decreased from almost 53 % to 41.5 % in the consumer sphere , with the professional sector showing a borderline reduction ( 63.9 % to 62.9 % ) . Overall , this represents a total reduction from 56 % to 47 % respectively .
The uprise Media Monitor theme furnish the results of the 2020 study , funded by grow Media Association ( GMA)/Horticulture Trades Association ( HTA ) , the Department for Environment , Food and Rural Affairs ( Defra ) and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board ( AHDB ) and shows trends in the composition of UK grow media supply 2011 to 2019 .
As a sector , horticulture is committed to working with government and others on finding responsible ways to achieve the reciprocal goals within the 25 - year Environment Plan . Peat reduction is one scene of this and a complex area which requires action on several front to make further progress .
Chairman of the Growing Media Association , Neil Bragg , said : “ The substantive requirement for produce metier within horticulture entail that the industry fully understands the need to address government issue around its composition and is commit to working with others to navigate the complexness of doing so .
“ Monitoring is only one aspect , alongside find out ways to promote responsibly sourced product to consumers and being part of the discussion about the pros and cons of the various peat alternatives .
“ Being part of the wide collaborative effort on this - manufacturing business empower in innovative ways to transfer the formulation of growing media and retail merchant changing their buying policies , for example - have helped drive these supporting developments in peat - utilization in the consumer sphere and is what will ensure progress continue to be made . ”
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said , “ I receive this newfangled data point which shows the investment that the growing media manufacturing business and retailers have made in peat refilling is begin to feed into the market .
“ We are utterly attached to phasing out the consumption of peat in horticultural mathematical product in England and want this transition to be as unseamed as potential for the industry .
“ We will continue to do work with the industriousness to speed progress and will be setting out our proposals in our forthcoming England Peat Strategy . ”
Across the sector , stakeholders want to crop together and with Government to take a responsible for approach to making further alteration . To aid identify what action is required , the GMA / HTA commissioned autonomous academic research on the field .
Academics from the Research Centre for Business in Society at Coventry University made several testimonial for moving the industry forward in a report published last calendar month . Their enquiry retrospect the raise media industry , its sustainability , and analysed how the domain needs to develop to become more sustainable .
Alongside suggestions for manufacture around better labelling and information for consumer , the keep research into availability of alternatives , include within the composting sector and phasing out peat in the retail sector , the composition holler for politics musical accompaniment .
Dr. David Bek of Coventry University said : “ It will be difficult for the grow media industry to carry on its on-going passage towards a peat - free hereafter without shimmy within the UK national insurance policy framework . Wood - based growing medium is currently rendered less competitive by the motivator available for using wood biomass for heat and superpower generation . Whilst green waste collection system around the UK want to be harmonised to improve the character and availability of green compost that is being bring on . These are significant obstruction which require to be take on with some urgency . ”
Neil Bragg added : “ The modish data from the proctor theme mix with the recommendations of the team at Coventry University ease up us an excellent insight into the areas where we need to focus . We will now be considering how to prioritize these different workstreams and which stakeholder are best placed to take things forward . "
“ We ’re in a good place for putting some of the necessary changes into place for the next season and will be aiming to see positive grounds of the encroachment this will have . ”
