SOMERSET Wildlife Trust is urging people across the country and beyond to support a legislative Bill to ban the sale of horticultural peat by the end of 2025.

On November 6, 2024, Sarah Dyke, Liberal Democrat MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, put forward the Horticultural Peat (Prohibition of Sale) Bill. Under plans outlined in the Bill, there would be a ban on selling horticultural peat by the end of 2025. Having passed its first reading, the Bill is due to be presented in more detail at its second reading on January 24.

Peatlands are one of the world’s most unique and precious habitats which also act as significant carbon stores, covering just 3 per cent of the earth’s surface yet holding nearly 30 per cent of the soil carbon.

In 2022, the horticultural industry used 950,000m3 of peat – enough to fill 380 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This trade impacts biodiversity and carbon stores, as well as reducing the country’s ability to withstand flooding and improve the quality of our water supplies.

Georgia Dent, chief executive officer of Somerset Wildlife Trust, said: “Somerset is unfortunately one of the last two counties in England where peat extraction still takes place.

“We know our peatlands are one of our greatest carbon stores and one of the most important instruments in our fight against climate change, which is why we need to be protecting and restoring these amazing places. That means keeping peat in the ground and banning the sale of peat compost.”