Having looked at the ecological and environment impact of
peat excavation for horticulture and how peat being used today in gardens and
allotments and the alternatives, we must ask what we can do to effect change?
Today we extract some 700,000 tonnes or 22cm of peat a year which
is only being renewed at the rate of 1mm a year. This is not a sustainable
model which impacts on Climate Change by removing a vital natural resource.
Some will always be driven by convenience, price and quality.
Others who wish to radically reduce our current wholesale excavation of peat
reserves and deal with Climate Change issues will view peat as the issue to be addressed.
The true cost is not the price paid at the till, but the cost paid by the
depletion of a valuable natural reserve and the supply chains that support its
transportation.
Some may feel that the problem is solved and change has
happened but You only need to look around the allotments, stores and ask others
to realise it is still an issue today.
How can we move more effectively and quicker towards a peat
free environment?
I have taken a radical look at some of the opportunities.
Central Government and its associated regulatory bodies:
Regulation is unlikely to be introduced today and the
favoured route on many such matters appears to be self-regulation against somewhat
arbitrary future targets. This has not worked to date and is hard to see
working moving forward. The commercial lobby is far stronger than the consumer
one today.
Taxation, tariffs and financial incentives. These work two
ways in that you can give financial incentives to commercial bodies to quit or
you tax them, or the system that supports them to force change. An example of
the latter would be the action taken on tobacco where the price was raised via
taxation to make the consumer stop or cut down.
This could be highly effective as the price of peat-based compost
is significantly cheaper than alternative peat-free offers. If a bag of peat-based
compost were suddenly raised from say £5 to £20, fewer bags would be bought,
and retailers would soon apply pressure on or change their suppliers.
Equally if all peat imports had a tariff applied to them
which raised the cost by 20% then there would be a significant economic shift on
imported peat from Ireland and the Baltic states. However, even in this post
Brexit world this may be a bridge too far.
Government bodies such as DEFRA could impose tighter
advertising and labelling of products where the element of peat is used.
Instead of the peat and ingredient mix being on the back of the bag it could be
in your face on the front with a special 100% peat free standard logo. This
could be coupled with further information that had to be included on all
packaging on peat and climate change. Again this would be similar to that used
on tobacco products. Today many still do not state what the ingredients of the
mix is.
The one thing all political parties want to project today is
their ‘green’ credentials and moving words into actions is the challenge.
Local Government and associated bodies:
Some may think that Local government would be too fragmented
to make a difference, but others will see that this is where many actions could
be initiated and if copied by others create real momentum for change.
We should bear in mind that not only do Councils control, they
also have a strong influence over our allotments, housing associations, civic
gardens, parks and in addition manage waste, environment, planning and housing.
Why this holistic perspective is important? Local Government can effectively
make their areas peat free through their own buying, influence, and planning.
What one council does may be quickly followed by others.
Again, councils are keen to project their ‘green’
credentials and are often more accessible than Westminster.
Better distribution of council recycled waste could reduce
all our dependence on buying many materials such as leaf mould, bark chippings,
shredded wood and shavings and much more.
They could ensure that all allotment plots within their area
have a compost bin and wormery and provide food bins to transport household
waste to the allotment. This coupled with an information and education
programme could easily start to encourage allotments to adopt composting. They
could also ban bonfires which again encourages composting. Finally, they could
promote environmental awards for community, school and allotment growing initiatives
focused on issues such as peat free.
Take a London Borough and make it happen, publicise it and
soon other Boroughs will be following, and allotments may be the community hub
to best organise this approach.
Allotments, Allotment Federations, National Society, and
its Regions
The organisational structures exist today to focus on issues
and co ordinate a programme of activity.
London has some 750 allotment sites and around 40,000 plots
and the UK has some 300,000 plots. These may not all belong to the National
Society and many just want to quietly manage their plots, but the overall size
is significant. The National Society has the internal educational and influence
and the community outreach potential at national, regional, and local levels.
Environmental and community awards and merits could create greater
awareness and recognise individual initiatives and could have a focus on
specific issues such as peat free allotments and community education.
The National Society should also can influence and lobby
central and local government, retailers, and suppliers at many levels.
Individuals
Many allotment plot holders and gardeners have already
switched to peat free but many more remain wedded to convenience, cost and
quality.
As individuals we still have the ability to raise FOI
(Freedom of Information) requests to our local authorities and government
bodies and ask what actions they are taking, how much peat are they buying
directly and indirectly, what is their strategy re peat and much more. FOIs
have the ability to raise politician’s awareness to issues that they may
otherwise brush to one side. It also can provide facts which otherwise would
remain unknown.
As individuals we can ask if its peat free every time. If
its not labelled and doesn’t state what the mix is, put it down and tell the retailer
it is unclear what is in the bag.
Letters to press and media also act to remind them that an
issue is real and one good press article can open many doors.
Social media is everyone’s channel and the more noise
created the more people become aware and the better the opportunity to
galvanise support. Retailers and suppliers soon sit up if they feel the wind of
change is upon them.
We can’t all assume we know all the facts or that we have
the answers but we can share what we know, raise awareness and maybe initiate
actions that stop the exploitation of one of our most valuable natural
resources – Peatlands.
