5 Jun 2023

It’s time to end the sale of peat

Written by Vicky Cairns, Policy Officer

A flower border in full bloom with lots of tall flowering plants. Many have pink or purple flowers.

We already use alternatives to peat at gardens such as Pitmedden.

We’re calling for the government to end the use of peat in horticultural growing media. This story explains why it’s important.

Scotland’s peatlands are beautiful, dramatic and not in the state they should be. Home to rare and endangered wildlife, as well as preserving historic remains within their waterlogged layers, they’re of huge significance to our culture, landscape and scientific knowledge.

They’re also increasingly recognised for their immense value in climate regulation, as they sequester and storing carbon from the atmosphere. Global peatlands contain more than twice the carbon stored in all forests (IUCN UK Peatland Programme, What’s so special about peatlands? The truth behind the bog), so they will play a crucial role in helping to tackle climate change.

However, peatlands can only play their part in climate change mitigation when they’re in good condition, actively accumulating peat. Degraded and damaged peatlands do just the opposite – they release carbon back into the atmosphere instead of sequestering it.

This is why the National Trust for Scotland, as a conservation charity, is calling for an end to the use of peat for horticulture. The extraction of peat for commercial uses degrades peatland and exacerbates greenhouse gas emissions and the effects of climate change. It also threatens the wildlife, historic remains and palaeo-environmental information sheltered in our peatlands.

An aerial view of a wetland habitat, showing a river running through peatland, with various small pools dotted about.

An aerial view of the peatland at Mar Lodge Estate NNR

In parallel with calling for a quick end to the use of peat for horticulture, we are:

already using alternatives to peat in our own gardens
working as part of the IUCN UK Peatland Programme and the Global Peatlands Initiative to promote sustainable peatland use and Scotland’s peatland heritage
actively restoring degraded peatland in the places we care for

Around 20% of the National Trust for Scotland’s landholding, an estimated 16,000 hectares, is made up of carbon-rich peat soils, making it the Trust’s most significant natural capital asset that contributes to climate change mitigation. Across our estate, we’re working to protect, and improve the condition of, our peatlands, actively restoring degraded peatland in properties such as Mar Lodge Estate, Ben Lawers, Ben Lomond and Goatfell.

A stream runs down a hillside with bogs either side of it. Far below lies Loch Lomond.

A bog on Ben Lomond

There is plenty that you can do to help protect valuable and fragile peatlands, including joining our call for a ban on the use of peat for horticulture, buying peat-free compost or, better still, making and using your own compost.

How to start a compost heap

The Scottish Government has recently been running a consultation – Ending the sale of peat in Scotland – in particular looking at ending the sale of peat for horticulture. As we suggested in our response to that consultation, we believe the environmental argument for being peat-free is stronger than ever. Now that there are proven alternatives, we strongly support ending the use of peat as soon as practicable for both amateur and professional horticulture. We call on the government to support the industry in making that necessary transition.

Gardening without peat