Gardeners back RSPB plea for peat levy

BRITAIN's leading gardeners have united in backing a demand for gardening without peat being made by the wildlife charity, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Earlier this year the RSPB and other conservation charities called on the government to introduce a levy on peat products, bought from garden centres, to help protect wildlife and the environment.

According to the charity, peat based compost in the UK is responsible for 630,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year - the equivalent of an extra 300,000 cars on our roads. And the majority of peat sold in the UK is imported from Ireland and Baltic countries where peat extraction destroys wildlife habitats.

The RSPB revealed yesterday that a survey had shown the vast majority of Britain's most influential gardeners, broadcasters and writers - including Alan Titchmarsh and Alys Fowler - are already using little or no peat in their own gardens.

According to the RSPB, four-fifths of the 27 top gardeners surveyed use little or no peat in their garden and two-thirds agreed with the phasing out of peat products.

Most thought consumers did not know enough about the environmental impact of peat extraction to make an informed decision.