Peat Free Episode 1
Episode 1: Why Transition to Peat-Free Compost Matters
Objective: Establish the importance of moving away from peat, highlight its environmental impacts, and explain why the transition is challenging but necessary.

1. Opening & Introduction:

Kate:
Hi, I’m Kate [and I’m Phil] and welcome to this special edition of The Underground Podcast. Today, we’re starting a two-part journey into one of the most critical and transformative topics facing the garden sector right now—the transition to peat-free compost. For decades, peat has been the backbone of growing media. It’s loved for its reliability, consistency, and versatility. But as we’ve learned more about its environmental impact, the call to move away from peat has become impossible to ignore.

Phil:
In this first episode, we’re digging into the ‘why.’ Why do we need to transition away from peat? Why is it such a valuable material? And why is it proving so difficult to replace? We’ll also explore the environmental consequences of peat extraction, from biodiversity loss to carbon emissions, and we’ll hear from leading voices in the industry about the challenges and opportunities that come with finding sustainable alternatives.

Kate:
Then, in Episode 2, we’ll get practical—looking at the realities of making peat-free work. We’ll dive into the challenges for professional growers, home gardeners, and garden centres, while also uncovering the innovations driving the future of growing media.”

Phil:
Together, these episodes will give you a full picture of the peat-free transition—why it’s so important and how the garden sector is rising to the challenge.

Kate:
So, grab a cup of tea, get comfortable, and join us as we uncover the roots of the peat-free revolution. Let’s get started.

Phil:
So before we get really stuck in, I thought it'd be good to establish exactly what it is we're talking about. And who better to address our questions to than Elaine Gotts?

Kate:
Elaine has been the research and development scientist at Levington for over 30 years. She's played a pivotal role in their journey from peat based to peat free growing media. Elaine has tested hundreds of alternative materials and overseen the transition of iconic brands like Miracle Gro and Leamington to peat free formulations. Her insights into the technical and practical aspects of growing media are unmatched.

Phil:
And with such an auspicious resumé, who better to tell us the difference between compost and soil?

Elaine:
That's a that's a really good question. And I think this is one of those situations where the English language has really confused us and particularly confused consumers, because, I guess you're asking me about growing media. You're not actually asking me the difference between compost and soil. You're asking me the difference between growing media and soil.

Phil:
So is there a difference between compost and growing media?

Elaine:
Yes. So, compost is a verb and a name. So, to compost, you break down organic matter in the presence of air. So, you compost in your compost heap in your garden. And what you make through that process is compost. What we make and put into bags is growing media. But people buy it as compost. the difference between compost or growing media and soil is soil is sometimes described as soil in situ. So, soil in your garden, in a field, where it's made in the ground – that’s soil. So, if you're planting in your beds and borders, you're planting into soil. If you're planting into a container, or maybe if you've built a raised bed and you've filled it with something else, then you're growing into growing media.

2. What’s so good about peat?

Phil:
Got it! What’s so good about peat anyway? I think we need to understand why it became the gold standard in growing media. And why replacing it is so challenging. First up is Simon Blackhurst. Simon has worked in the horticulture sector for years, including his time at Bord na Móna, which was Ireland’s leading peat supplier. During his tenure, he focused on developing peat-free alternatives, helping to pioneer sustainable growing media solutions. Now, as a consultant, Simon helps manufacturers, like Durstons, develop innovative, high-quality products for the peat-free future.

Simon Blackhurst
I think we have to sort of take it back to peat in terms of why we used peat, and or why we still do use peat in certain situations. It's stable. It's inert. It doesn't really do anything. You know, it's a blank canvas for a manufacturer to be able to apply whatever nutrients and, surfactants, etc., that they need to be able to produce it for a specific plant type. And it's very easy if you start with a blank piece of paper to then add in what you need. So that's why peat was very helpful and easy to utilise.

Kate:
Simon really captures why peat’s consistency and versatility made it so attractive to growers and manufacturers alike. But it’s not just about consistency. Peat was also a blank canvas, giving manufacturers unparalleled control over the growing media mix. Here’s Elaine Gotts again from the Levington Research Station.

Elaine Gotts:
Thinking about how we were with peat, we were used to working with the material, which was acidic and had no nutrients in it. So, it was a blank canvas. And from a fertiliser company point of view, we could put as much lime in as we wanted to adjust the pH to the right point. We could put in as much fertiliser as we wanted to get to the right fertiliser level for the plants you're growing.

Phil:
Peat’s consistency was a game-changer for growers. As we’ve moved into peat free, achieving similar performance is proving to be a challenge. Here’s Simon again, on how peat free alternatives sometimes require a different approach.

Simon Blackhurst:
Now, as we move into the peat free world, we've got lots of different ingredients that have different chemical and physical properties all coming together and then having their own interactions whilst within the bag, you know, whilst they're stored and they're expecting, you know, a similar result at the end that it's not that straightforward.

Elaine Gotts:
One of the main challenges has been that, particularly from a consumer, home gardener point of view, our customers have got used to gardening in peat, over a relatively short space of time, really, because the first peat containing mixes weren't brought in until the late 60s. But people have got used to working with that medium.
And it's absolutely possible to change. But people need to adapt the way that they grow as they adapt to new materials.

Kate:
Peat’s physical, chemical, and biological properties clearly set it apart as a growing medium. But as both Simon and Elaine’s work has shown, the environmental cost of using peat makes it unsustainable. But what are the environmental consequences of peat extraction? From carbon emissions to biodiversity loss, we’ll uncover why moving away from peat is no longer just a choice—it’s a necessity.

3. The Environmental Case Against Peat:

Phil:
To explore these questions, we’ll be hearing from a diverse range of voices, each bringing a wealth of expertise and a unique perspective to the discussion. Let’s start with Will Scott. Will is the Team Leader at Heart of Eden, a peat-free brand under AHS Limited. Will’s scientific training and years in the horticultural industry have given him a deep understanding of sustainability and the challenges of developing peat-free products. His team has never used peat in their products, making them pioneers in sustainable growing media.

Will Scott:
Well, and the statistic that I take home every day, which really has stuck with me, is peat regrows at something like a millimetre a year. So, if you take a metre worth of peat out, that will take a thousand years to come back, if it comes back at all. We just can't be doing that. That's… it's not sustainable.

Kate:
Will highlights the stark reality of peat’s regeneration—or lack of it. That’s a critical starting point, but the environmental impact of peat extraction goes even further. Next, we’ll hear from Jane Hartley, the Brand Portfolio Manager for Growing Categories at Evergreen Garden Care, with over 20 years experience in the horticultural industry. Jane has been instrumental in driving Evergreen’s sustainability initiatives, including their transition to peat-free growing media. Her passion for responsible sourcing and rigorous product testing ensures their products meet both performance and environmental standards.

Jane Hartley:
You know, peat obviously doesn't score particularly well in that area because it takes a thousand years to generate peat land. And, you know, within 50 minutes we've, you know, swiped off the Earth.

Phil:
That’s a powerful visual. The scale of biodiversity loss caused by peat extraction is staggering. Our next contributor, Steve Harper, brings another crucial perspective. Steve is the Chair of the Responsible Sourcing Scheme and Managing Director of Southern Trident. With decades of experience in growing media production, Steve has been a leading advocate for measuring and improving the sustainability of all growing media substrates.

Steve Harper:
Obviously, we all knew what the issues with Pete were in terms of, carbon. It's not renewable. And when you're opening new peat bogs, you're destroying habitat and biodiversity. So it's got some… it’s got big issues.

Kate:
Finally, we’ll hear from Sally Nex, Sally is an environmental gardener, writer, and a leading advocate for sustainable horticulture. As part of the Peat-Free Partnership, Sally has been at the forefront of lobbying for legislation to ban peat use in horticulture across the UK. Her expertise in low-carbon gardening and her deep connection to nature make her a compelling voice in this debate.

Sally Nex:
People are very committed to this idea of, giving up peat in gardening. I think that they, they don't like the fact that there's peat in their compost. They don't like the fact that they're having to rip up peat bogs and, you know, ruin biodiversity, release all that carbon as well – because we all know about carbon sequestration and its importance in fighting climate change these days. That message has very much got through.

I think that, you know, there are always going to be a few, more traditional gardeners, you might say, who will always insist that Pete is best. But that I am finding just in my contacts, I suppose, with gardeners day to day is getting less and less the case. Most people I speak to use peat free these days.

Phil:
It’s clear that peat extraction has profound and far-reaching consequences. From carbon emissions to the destruction of habitats, the environmental case against peat is overwhelming. So, replacing peat seems like a no-brainer.

Kate:
It is, but it’s not as simple as that. Replacing peat is hard, really hard. …

4. Why Is It Difficult to Replace Peat?

Kate:
…Let’s take a look at one of the most pressing questions in the peat-free journey: Why is it so difficult to replace peat? For decades, peat has been the go-to ingredient in growing media, but as we’ve heard, the environmental cost of using peat is too high. So, why hasn’t the switch to peat-free been easier?

Phil:
To help us unpack this, we’re hearing first from Fran Barnes, the Chief Executive of the Horticultural Trades Association (the HTA). Her role at the HTA puts her at the centre of the industry’s efforts to navigate this transition, and she brings invaluable insight into the challenges of moving away from peat.

Fran Barnes:
I think from our perspective, what we're focussed on as well at the moment is ensuring that there’s education. For helping…. we're running a series of workshops that help growers understand what the, pros, cons, workarounds are for peat free. It's completely different. And I think trying to get people who aren't in the industry to understand that brown stuff does not necessarily grow stuff. In my very, very layman's language, it's a science behind it and helping people understand, not within the industry because everybody gets it, that it’s a science within the industry, but outside the industry that it is a science. It doesn't just grow a plant because it's brown. And I think that there is that very, top line view. If it will be all right. It's, you know, it's in a bag if we just put in and you put a plant in and it's all fine. Helping people understand that there is a science behind this, that it's a completely different medium from peat, in terms of its shelf life, in terms of its water retention, in terms of its, fertilising properties. You know, it's a completely different, product.

Kate:
Simon Blackhurst again…

Simon Blackhurst:
So, you have to really understand the supply chain of raw materials. You've got to understand that sort of, properties in terms of how they're going to change over time and how they interact with each other, to be able to make sure that end point product, when it goes to a consumer, is going to work. And that's the challenge from a grower media manufacturer point of view, getting the right mix of the right materials and that consistency time and time again.

Kate:
Simon’s point about consistency is so important. With peat, you knew what you were working with every time. But with peat-free, manufacturers are juggling multiple ingredients, all with their own quirks. Elaine Gotts here, dives even deeper into the practical challenges of finding and balancing these alternative ingredients.

Elaine Gotts:
I think from a technical point of view and from the trials that we do, we know that we can produce all kinds of really good peat free mixes, but it's which of those mixes actually still perform in the hands of our consumers. And we can actually, manufacture at scale. We can put them into a bag. They're going to be storage stable. They're going to give reliable results. There's 101 materials that you could use to replace peat, but there are only a very few which meet that requirement to actually work in the hands of our consumers reliably.

Phil:
Evergreen Garden Care who Elaine works for, is a global company, and so we wanted to know how other countries manage, we know they’re not all using peat in their growing media. In fact, Australia has never used peat as they don’t have any peatland available. Let’s hear Elaine again as she discusses how geography impacts the availability of raw materials.

Elaine Gotts:
It is a good question and we've learnt a lot from our colleagues in Australia in terms of how they have they produce their peat free growing media and the materials that they use. But even between ourselves and our colleagues in France, there are geographical differences in the available substrates. You can imagine how many times that's multiplied if you think about going from here to Australia.
So, in terms of the materials they use, they have access to a lot of pine bark, which we don't have access to here. They're using biochar, which is, produced from macadamia nuts, not particularly available in the UK. Macadamia nut shells, obviously, no waste. But, Yeah… And we see that in each of the geographies that we operate in that it's a question of finding something that's available locally.

You know, the economy around the production of growing media doesn't lend itself to shipping materials long distances. Its bulky material, and relatively low value versus the cost of transport. So, we're all looking for local raw materials. But having said that, we're applying, the same sort of principles in terms of what we're looking for and what we can use. So, it's more on the, the sort of fertiliser side and additives that go with those substrates that we can learn from Australia and New Zealand.

Kate:
So not only do we need to find alternatives, but they also have to work within the context of what’s available locally. And even when we do find new materials, there’s still the issue of tweaking formulations to ensure they work well.

Elaine Gotts:
So, we work together very closely with our supply chain colleagues. A big part of the initial, assessment of the material is to look at where it is, how practical it would be to supply into our factories, what volume of it is available. And then from that is it worth is investing in researching into it and making it possible to use.
So if it's practical, or if it's something which is, really new and has the potential to scale up. Is that something that we want to invest in and invest in the development of as a substrate itself? Increasingly because, rather than just having peat and saying, okay, can I put 10% of this into a peat base and does it have a positive or negative effect? We don't have that peat base to sort of work from anymore. And so, it's more doing some physical and chemical analysis before we do any growing and comparing that with other materials that we already using. So, if for example, this is a very, you know, the new material is very light. it's very low density. It has low nutrient content. It holds lots of air but not very much water, then shall we substitute that for some wood fibre? If it's got lots of nutrients in it, it's very dense. Can we substitute that for some green compost? And it's looking at what it would replace in an existing mix and how, you know, whether that then has a positive, negative or neutral effect when it comes to growing plants.

So, there are new things becoming available, sort of over time. So, things like digestate, fibres weren't, weren't available in the way that they are now sort of five years ago. So, as those materials become available at scale, then is there a role for those? If we put a small proportion of them into a mix, what do we take out? And it's all of those kinds of sort of tweaks and, and changes that we're looking at now to, to maintain.

All of our formulations are assessed under the responsible sourcing scheme. So that means any new ingredient, that goes into those formulations has to be audited. So, we need to be thinking about, you know, the energy used in producing it, which includes the distance it, it's being transported into the factories. How much water is used? How renewable is it? Is there waste generated through its processing? Is it produced responsibly from a corporate social responsibility point of view? All of those things, go into the score. So, we wouldn't want to add anything into the mix that then reduce the overall score for our product.

Phil:
I think this really highlights just how multifaceted the challenge of replacing peat is. It’s not just one problem—it’s a whole web of interconnected issues. From the science of peat itself to the practicalities of sourcing and blending alternatives, this transition is anything but simple. But as we’ve heard, it’s a challenge the industry is tackling head-on, with innovation and collaboration leading the way.

5. Key Ingredients in Peat-Free Compost:

Kate:
"And that’s what we’ll be exploring next—what research and development goes into creating a successful peat-free growing media. So, what are the key ingredients in peat-free compost? Transitioning away from peat means identifying sustainable and effective alternatives that meet the needs of both professional growers and home gardeners."

Phil:
"To help us understand the role of these ingredients and how they’re being used, we’ll be hearing from various people, grounded in their extensive experience in the horticultural sector. Let’s start with Jane Lawler. Jane is a marketing and business consultant with decades of experience in the gardening industry. She’s the former chair of GIMA and currently serves on the HTA Board of Directors. Jane’s career has spanned roles in product development, marketing strategy, and consumer insight, making her a leading voice in understanding what it takes to develop successful peat-free products."

Jane Lawler:
What comes in a bag now labelled peat free is not like a replacement for peat based multi-purpose. Because they're all different, they all behave differently. They're biologically quite active, whereas peat was kind of pretty inert and just you to sit there, you could leave it in the bag for two years and it still be the same. You leave a peat free bag for two years and you open the bag, something completely different, chemically speaking.

So, there's a big re-education job to do, and I wonder whether we have to try and get away from the multi-purpose mantra now and go back to: Buy this if you're sowing seeds and you're raising very young plants. Buy this, if you want to fill the containers on your patio for flowering plants. Buy this if you want to grow leafy green vegetables. I think we probably can't just jump straight into multi-purpose peat free. I think we've possibly got to go back and be a little bit more selective about what we sell people.

Kate:
And here’s Sally Nex again…

Sally Nex:
At the Peat Free Partnership, we are very, very supportive of a circular economy. So, what we're talking about is that composting, and making compost, making, growing media can actually really feed into the benefits of having a circular economy that relies on recycling, because, of course, most of the ingredients that go into a free compost are recycled ingredients. So, we're talking about, waste wood, waste bark, you know, all of those kinds of things.
So they are very much things which would otherwise be thrown away. Green waste, of course, where it's used, that's more problematic because of the various issues with things like contamination. But digestate… you know, there's lots of things which are By-Products of existing materials, existing organic material use, which can also be used in compost.

Kate:
So let’s look in more detail about what goes into choosing the best ingredients that will be blended together to create a peat-free mix. Here’s Elaine Gotts again from the Levington Research Station, we asked her what would be the ideal peat-free ingredient…

Elaine Gotts:
There's definitely a benefit in in the mixes that we have now being a combination of different materials. Versus, reliance on a single material, which is where we were, you know, where we come from with peat. But in terms of the ideal characteristics… I think something which is easy to manage. So, something which is easy to water, I mean, if you're talking magical ingredients, something that indicates to you when you need to water would be ideal.
I know when we've done, you know, crazy sort of innovation sessions, we always come up with colour changing compost that is. That's what you need that you know something that now plays a tune when it needs to be fed that that's sort of…

Kate:
That would be great.

Elaine Gotts:
But you know, anything that's easy to manage. Nice to handle. Holds on to nutrients well as well. So, something which has to, not be too technical, but something which has good cation exchange capacity. So, it holds onto the nutrients. It will buffer them. So you can put lots of fertiliser in. It's not going to burn the plant, but it'll be there to release slowly and nurture it over time.
Something so it makes a product foolproof for the consumer. And that's yeah, that's what it's all about really is making something which in the hands of the consumer will get their plants to thrive and will make them feel successful.

Phil:
So that’s the ideal ingredient, but what about the ingredients that are currently being used?

Elaine Gotts:
I suppose something which, has maybe surprised us in a good way, has been the way we've been able to increase the proportions of wood fibre in our mixes. Now it's something that's, we originally started to look for a source of wood fibre, as a partner for green compost. Because when you think about something which is locally produced, which is available in large volumes, green compost is, is there, it's in the UK and it's something that we want to find a way to be able to use.
So, to be able to, to even out the negatives that could come from it. And wood fibre is a great material for doing that. So we really looked at, investing in a process to make wood fibre on a commercial scale, to be able as a means to be able to use green compost.
And yet doing that, I don't think we really appreciated the benefits of wood fibre itself. You know, the air / water balance that it has as a 100% material. And again, if you were wanting to grow, with lots of liquid feed, you could grow in just wood fibre like it's not suitable for our home gardeners, but you could just fill a pot with that and growing it almost like a, almost a hydroponic substrate, something like that.

But, it's got great structure. And the process that we use, is making a biologically stable, fibre as well because we're infusing it with nitrogen. So, that's something which I think we've been able to, to build on, and to use a lot more widely than we perhaps thought we would. To the extent that we bought a second machine to double our production. So, yeah, I think that's something which is has gone a lot better than we at the beginning imagined it might have done.

Steve Harper:
Let’s start with the biggest benefit of coir, coir is the only substrate that could completely replace peat and be used 100%.

Phil:
That’s Steve Harper again…

Steve Harper:
So every other ingredient wood fibre, bark, digestate, green compost, whatever. You can only use percentages of it in a mix because of its chemical and physical attributes. Coir, you can grow 100%. You can add in fertiliser and grow 100%, so it works really well.

Kate:
Next, we’ll hear from Dan Durston, the National Sales Director of Durston’s, a family business in Somerset with a 150-year history. Durston’s has embraced the challenge of transitioning from a peat producer to a peat-free company, investing heavily in R&D and developing innovative products to create a successful range of peat free growing media. Here he is discussing some of the ingredients that they’ve been developing and are using in their final mixes.

Dan Durston
We've developed a product called Grow Boost. And it's a product that we produce ourselves. We, rent an airfield to be able to do that. We bring in PAS 100 green compost and we blend with it other materials and we store it in windrows. We then turn those windrows every week for ten weeks. Which composts the material. Heats it up to over 60 degrees. And then we double screen the material so that we're taking any oversized materials. Which was, very strange to a concept to sort of get my head around because we were buying screened materials, but…

Kate:
Still got a screen it.

Dan Durston:
You would be amazed on some of the things that we screen out, or some of the sizes of things that we screen out. But yeah, we've, we perfected that, product now and we're very, very happy with it. And that makes up one of our ingredients of our new, peat free mixes.

And the newest one, which is very different to us is a, what we call grow fibre.
That's needed quite a lot of investment in machinery, to be able to put together. So, we use coir, we blend the coir with, shredded wood fibre that we bring in in bales. And it's unique to us in the UK at the moment. And its uniqueness is that it comes from one species of tree. We know its properties - there's not a blend of different woods, react differently. So we know it's, properties. So when the, wood fibre is shredded, and reopened from, you know, being compressed in a bale, it's got short fibres and we need to blend the coir in amongst those short fibres to keep it open. Otherwise it would flatten itself again. So, yeah, we're very, very pleased with that product. And it's, it's light in density and light in colour as well. So, it helps, fill a bag and it's, we know it's nutrient value.

Phil:
As has already been mentioned, digestate is attracting a lot of attention as a key ingredient in peat free formulations. That brings us to Toby Thomas, Managing Director of RocketGro. Toby’s company specialises in using digestate, a by-product of anaerobic digestion, to create high-quality, Soil Association-approved organic growing media. RocketGro has become a leader in blending digestate with other substrates, pushing the boundaries of peat-free innovation.

Toby Thomas:
Yeah, it is relatively new there are a couple of couple of smaller players out there who've, had products out in the market for a few years. But with we're the first company to have a range, full range involving multiple different compost products that, rely on Digestate as a sort of the core ingredient. That's one of our many differentiators.
It's a lively ingredient. It's an exciting ingredient. What it adds to the soil and what it adds to the plant health is fantastic. And it's totally natural. But you're, you're dealing with something that you need to tame as well. You need to learn. You need to nurture, you need to… you need to respect.
And, when you're putting, putting something like a digestate fibre onto soil in a field, it's slightly different, of course, to putting it into a pot on a terrace, or in a window box. And so we had to make a bit of a transition there when it came to our thinking and our understanding and our learning. But that was all part of the excitement of what we were doing. Yes, it was eye opening and adventure. But when you're dealing with something that, you know, is absolutely fabulous is a really wonderful substrates, only positive things to come out of that.

Kate:
And here’s Will Scott from Heart of Eden, also talking about digestate…

Will Scott:
Final ingredient, which we have settled upon is a fuel crop Digestate, where they've taken fuel crops and then harvested them. They extract the biogas from them and the liquid material that they can out of that, and the solid vegetable matter that is left behind, is still very rich in macronutrients. And we are able to take that, as what is regarded otherwise as a waste product nd use this as part of our compost.

Toby Thomas:
We have one product called magic mulch, which is 100% pure, digestate fibre. And, you know, we believe that's the ultimate mulch for any gardener to use. It's clean, it's chemical free. It's pure crops. And the worms love it. The soil loves it. The plants love it.
So that's the sort of that's where all this came from. Because you know what? What Tim doesn't know about soil health and growing things isn't worth knowing, frankly. And so we've sort of leant on his knowledge, his experience in farming, and then built from that first product, a range of 24 different products. And, we blend that digestate fibre in varying levels, but we only put about 10 to 20% digestate fibre in the compost, and some of them even less, so along the last three years we've learnt, so much with our agronomists and horticulturists as to how to, to blend substrates such as woodchip fines, bark chip fines, bracken into the digestate mix to create the product range. And yeah, it's been… we've learnt a lot. With a lot of help from a lot of professional people like horticulturalists and laboratories, and trialling and we're very happy with where we've got to today. It's a wonderful, virtuous cycle where you, you feed the soil, you harvest the crops, you make the gas, the by-product goes back on the land to grow the next crops. You know, it's a brilliant story.

And, the fact that the digestate fibre delivers all that, is testament to how good it is as a, as a substrates. And, I guess in some ways it's surprising that it hasn't really been involved in growing media until up to maybe a few years ago. But I think that's probably… it's probably down to the fact that peat was so dominant and so the industry didn't have to think out of the box. It didn't have to look at alternatives. And since that, debates that have come to a head, although it's been running for 20 years, it has come to a head, I think, you know, the substrates such as digest sites are coming to the fore and, and being used more widely and of course, that's what we're all about. It's not an addition, It's a core part of our DNA.

Phil:
Toby highlights the promise and complexity of digestate. Its role in soil health is transformative, but it’s clear that getting the mix just right takes time and expertise. We’ve barely scratched the surface of the number of ingredients that are currently being used in peat free formulations, let alone all of the new materials that are currently being trialled in R&D facilities up and down the country. So that’s why we’re going to be exploring the critical role of responsible sourcing in the transition to peat-free growing media. As we move away from peat, it’s vital to ensure that the alternatives we use are genuinely sustainable and don’t create new environmental problems.

6. The Role of Responsible Sourcing:

Kate:
This is where the Responsible Sourcing Scheme comes in. It provides a framework for assessing the sustainability of growing media ingredients, ensuring manufacturers can make informed choices. Let’s start with Steve Harper, Chair of the Responsible Sourcing Scheme, as he explains its origins and purpose.

Steve Harper:
When, the government started looking or looked more seriously in 2011 at putting a peat banning, and then came up with the environmental white paper that kind of set that by 2022 I think it was, no 2020 we were going to be out of peat and 2030, the growers would be out of peat. One of the questions I asked and others asked was, how do we know what we're moving to is more responsible, more sustainable than peat? Because it was a case of ban peat, but nobody thought about what the future looked like. And a quick analogy that I kind of, have repeated a number of times is, if you remember back, we were all encouraged probably 15 or more years ago to move to diesel cars because they did more miles per gallon and produce less carbon. And then 5 or 10 years later, they realised that the particulates that diesel engines chucked out was much worse for human health and actually don’t go to diesel cars. And I didn't want this industry to do the same thing.
And I guess that's where the responsible sourcing scheme came along. It measures all substrates, so it doesn't matter if it's peat or coir, bark, wood, digest digestate doesn't matter what substrates it is, it measures them all equally. So, the idea at the end of the scoring process that the scheme brings about is you can then look at what are the most responsible substrates and make your decisions based on that.
As it happens, peat is the least responsible substrate. So, we are definitely heading in the right direction. But that was what it was designed to do.
So, what the scheme's done is that it measures every substrate, and it measures them against seven different criteria. So, it looks at the amount of energy it's being used, the amounts of water that's being used to process it, whether it creates any pollution, habitat and biodiversity where there's any damage to that, resource use efficiency, is it creating a lot of waste at the end of the process? Social compliance, because not only are we talking about products in the UK, but we're bringing products in from overseas. And then the renewability of the materials.

Phil:
This focus on measurable impact is vital, especially as consumers become more environmentally conscious. And speaking of consumers, Jane Hartley, from Evergreen Garden Care, explains how the scheme is there to help people make an informed choice.

Jane Hartley:
The responsible sourcing scheme is very similar to the energy rating that you have when you buy a washing machine or fridge and a freezer, etc. and we've got this A to E star rating. You know, and if you've got, a very responsibly sourced mix of ingredients, then you'll get an A rating. Whereas if you've got something that's got peat in, generally it's going to be a D or an E.

Kate:
That’s such a helpful analogy. The idea of an A-to-E rating system makes it easy for consumers to understand the impact of their choices. We asked Steve Harper about the uptake of the scheme, after all, there’s no point in having a great scheme like this if no one is using it.

Steve Harper:
Of all of the great media that's produced in the UK, probably the manufacturers that account for 90% of that production, are within the scheme. And it's being rolled out now to retailers and growers as they join because they want to understand how responsible they're being.

Kate:
That’s an incredible level of industry participation. It shows just how seriously manufacturers are taking the need for responsible sourcing. It’s looking like the scheme is a game-changer for the industry, ensuring that the transition to peat-free doesn’t come at the cost of sustainability.

Phil:
As we’ve heard, responsible sourcing is about much more than replacing peat. It’s about building a future where every ingredient in growing media is chosen with care for the planet and its people. Coming up next, we’ll explore one of the most controversial topics in peat-free media: the use of coir and the debates surrounding its sustainability.
We’re going to lift the lid on the coir conundrum, and hear from our experts on how to navigate this challenging topic.

7. The Coir Conundrum

Kate:
We want to take a balanced view on this tricky subject. There are certainly strong arguments being made in the industry, we’re going to hear from Sally Nex, a journalist and peat ban campaigner, but first here’s Toby Thomas from RocketGro with his thoughts on coir.

Toby Thomas:
We're questioning coir at the moment as being a substitution for peat that makes sense or not. We don't have any coir in our, products and we never will. And I think that's really down to the fact that the carbon footprint of shipping coir from Sri Lanka or India to the UK is, is unacceptable. The working conditions of the, the workers in Sri Lanka, in India who process a core is not good. The amount of water that's used, the process of creating that coir pith and getting it to the UK, is not great for local water tables and can lead to, to damage to local environments there as well. So we're not very happy about, coir as a substrate, so we'll never use it.
But we've got to put something in the bag. So it's very difficult for the industry to adjust to taking peat out, but there are alternatives. The, as we're demonstrating that don't involve, regrettable substitutions.

Sally Nex:
It's so important this, there are many ingredients, like, for example, coir, which also has a it may not be peat, but it also has a very high carbon footprint. The other problem with coir, too, is that it in order to be able to process it, you have to, I understand, wash it with lots of fresh water in an area of the world, i.e. South Asia, where fresh water is quite at a premium for people. So, you know, I don't really want people to be using their fresh water to be making plant pots for me, or indeed compost ingredients for me. I'd much rather that they used it, you know, for themselves.

Phil:
So, it’s clear that coir is being put under the microscope and its sustainable credentials are being questioned. However, coir is playing a vital role in many peat-free formulations that are currently on the market due to the unique properties it possesses as we’ve previously heard. Here’s Will Scott from Heart of Eden again…

Will Scott:
We have what we call a virgin coir, so that's come straight off the coconut plant. It's been, broken down, divided into fine particles. Now, of course, the coir that we have to get from India, that's not exactly the most sustainable option, but it's a multi-million dollar industry for that country. And so, they are looking to export it. And we find it’s something that which we need in our blend. But it's something we can use very effectively.

Kate:
Probably the person who knows the most about coir that’s used for growing media production in the UK is Steve Harper. We’ve heard from Steve already with his Responsible Sourcing Scheme hat on, but Steve is also Managing Director of Southern Trident, a peat free growing media company, but also an importer of coir. We asked Steve about his experience of coir production and what he would say to some of the detractors out there.

Steve Harper:
There's genuine concerns from some people, but that some think because they don't understand the product. And then they are… and I mentioned competitors in the marketplace, competitors who've got invested in other products. And yo've talked to some of your podcast in the past, and they're pushing, trying to push the benefits of their products. And one of the ways of doing that is trying to say it's better than this or that, because of… And, I think it's actually damaging for the industry. Because, gardeners will get the wrong impression. And I think if we're going to make green things, we have to make fair and reasonable green claims.

As a business, again, we belong to an organisation called SEDEX, which basically looks at corporate social responsibility and the working conditions of the people that work on the various sites. And so for us is a critical thing. I've now visited numerous factories that we operate from and also, other factories we don't operate from just so that I can get a bigger picture I can. And the working conditions that I've seen have all been really good. And, I've not seen any issues there. The relationships between, you see, like the management that I've been walking around sites with and the staff all appears to be really good. The working conditions of the staff is very different to the UK, don't get me wrong. But they don't appear to be, poor conditions in any way, shape or form.

Kate:
And they're earning money.

Steve Harper:
And they're already money and, and it's, it's a massive earner for, the population, particularly of South India. If the coconut industry was taken away, the poverty that would come from that would be enormous.

Kate:
Again, that's something that isn't addressed at all.

Phil:
So that answers some of the questions over working conditions during production, but what about the questions over the amount of water required during production?

Steve Harper:
You know, this is it proved to be the biggest misnomer. And what I can't understand is how will this hasn't been explained previously? When I've gone out there and I've spoken to, the factories and got to have an understanding of this, you wonder why has this not come to light before, because it's quite simple. So, this kind of two areas.
So for six months of the year, it's monsoon season in India and you don't need to use any potable water. Trust me there's more than enough coming out of the sky to wash the material. So that's then straightforward. The water across Tamil Nadu, which is the main coconut producing region in India, is controlled by the government, is not controlled by private companies as we've got in the UK, and they broadly break water usage down into three areas: human consumption, agriculture and then the coconut industry.
So they've got it. And what they treat the coconut industry, the water there is what they call commercial water. It's all the same water. But they put out commercial. Basically, they keep an eye on all of the water levels across the Tamil Nadu region. And whilst there is copious amounts of water, plenty of water, the coconut industry has access to water and moment water becomes constricted, the coconut industry gets switched off and they are not allowed to then to take more water so they can't create the problem. If water becomes even more constrained then agriculture is switched off. So, there's always water left, if you like, for the human population. So the water isn't an issue. And in fact, I think even responsible sourcing we have to look now… we understand that. How we measure that more differently.

Then one of the other issues was raised is what happens to all that waste water? That's being thrown up is a big issue. Again, talking to our main factory over there, all the wastewater, all the water once it’s gone through… it’s washed the coconut, we use that water to, water the coconut plantations. So it gets pumped into the land. It's absolutely recycled. And some people sit there and go, well, doesn't that drive salt levels up? But they've been doing it for decades, and there's absolutely no ill effect. And I haven't dug into that specifically, but my assumption would be it’s because six months of the year, there's so much rain coming down, then if the salt levels do increase slowly during the spring and summer, it all gets washed back in, away again when we get through to the autumn and the winter when the monsoon season comes around.

Kate:
And possibly the biggest criticism that coir receives is around the distance coir must travel to get to the UK. Let’s hear what Steve had to say about that.

Steve Harper:
One example that is quite simple. People kind of make these points to coming some halfway around the world. If you look at the carbon footprint of a cubic metre of coir, shipped from the port in India, Tuticorin to Liverpool, let’s take this an example. Versus a cubic metre of bark, composted bark being brought down from Scotland to Liverpool by truck. So, within a container because the coir is compress to get about 350m3 in a container, on that container ship is anywhere between 9,000 - 14,000 containers. So, actually if you look at that versus, that lorry bringing bark down from Liverpool or down from Scotland to Liverpool is only 60-65m3 on that lorry. And a lorry is really inefficient from a carbon perspective. Actually the carbon footprint of those two journeys, coir is about 40% less than bark for those two elements of the journey.

Kate:
I think it’s fair to say that despite appearances coir may not be perfect, but it doesn’t appear to be the evil ingredient that it’s made out to be. It’s interesting, because we don’t hear the same strength of arguments over the environmental credentials of say, coconut milk in the food industry. I love a Thai curry, but I don’t think twice about buying coconut milk from the supermarket!

Phil:
I think you’re right Kate, and the other thing to bear in mind is that thanks to the Responsible Sourcing Scheme we can measure the environmental impact of all ingredients, including coir, so it’s clear how it stacks up.

8. Environmental Regeneration and the Path Forward

Kate:
And the last topic we’re going to be looking at in this episode of the podcast is the path forward and how we can restore much of the damage that’s been caused by decades of peat extraction. Here’s Jane Hartley again from Evergreen Garden Care.

Jane Hartley:
Last year we, purchased a growing media plant up in Kirby in Merseyside. And when I first heard about it was just a growing media factory. I didn't really think much more about it, it was just another factory where we could produce all of our growing media. But actually, when I visited and heard more about the story, about that particular site and what we're helping to do in that area. it's such a lovely story. So, the Kirby site has a manufacturing site, and I know Phil, you've been there. And it's on an old peat bog, that is currently being restored. So, we're working in partnership with the company that owns the land, and helping bringing that land back and restoring it so that it will eventually become a nature reserve.
And there are some areas of that, area that are just beautiful. They've got, you know, they've got biodiversity, they've got, ducks and geese and all sorts coming into there because they've done so much work to make it a beautiful, area. So it's a really lovely story in terms of the fact that you're making a real difference to the site that we're helping restore, you know, peat land that has previously been excavated, and we're creating a nature reserve for the local community.
I mean, that is just a wonderful story in itself, and I just love the fact that we can do that. You know, there are companies that, have to offset their carbon emissions and by planting trees. But actually, we're on our actual site where we're making such a difference.

Kate
And this is obviously a peat free factory?

Jane Hartley:
Yes, it's a completely peat free manufacturing site. So, it really fits with the messages that we're setting in terms of, you know, we're out of peat. We are doing everything that we want to do to restore that balance. Okay? It's going to take us a thousand years to get back to what we had before. But you can already see in just a few months or, you know, over a year, a real difference, to the site.

Phil:
When we had our discussion with Dan Durston, it became clear that the peatland his company is based on, was actually drained centuries ago by the monks of Glastonbury centuries ago, to create land that could be farmed, either for crops or grazing. He told us about the restoration efforts Durston’s make to the peat lands.

Dan Durston:
We’ve always harvested our peat in a sympathetic way. And we've always restored the bogs thereafter, to produce wetlands, and fishing lakes and a haven for nature. Because, you know, when we started excavating, they were just very low-level grazing land. And what we left behind is a habitat for nature and wildlife everywhere.

Kate:
Here’s Jane Hartley again.

Jane Hartley:
You know, we donated all of this, sort of, peatland that had been excavated for, peat around our Hatfield Growing Media site. And it's now become a beautiful nature reservoir in Yorkshire, another one down in Somerset. You know, so and, and we've got, we're doing similar things in Lancashire and also around Merseyside.
So there are really lovely stories and I just had no idea what we were doing, you know, and, and for someone that had been in the business for as long as it was, it almost felt as though it was a dirty secret. But actually, you know, we're all businesses. We all have done things that perhaps we shouldn't have necessarily done in the past, but it's about talking about all of the great things that you've done as a result of that. And I think that's really important for any businesses… You know, we're a chemical business. You can't hide behind what your history is, but it's about changing that history and showing that as a business, you are really committed to sustainability, and it really is at the heart of everything you do going forward.

9. Closing Thoughts:

Phil:
As we’ve explored today, peat has been at the heart of the garden sector for decades—its unique properties, from nutrient retention to water management, made it an almost perfect growing media. But, as we’ve heard from our contributors, the environmental cost of peat extraction is too great to ignore.

Kate:
The transition to peat-free isn’t without its challenges, and we’ve uncovered why it’s so difficult to replace peat, the complexities of alternative ingredients, and the vital role of responsible sourcing in ensuring that the solutions we move to are genuinely sustainable.

Phil:
It’s a journey that’s requiring innovation, collaboration, and a real shift in mindset—not just for the industry, but for home gardeners too.

Kate:
In the next episode, we’ll dive into the practicalities of making peat-free work. What does this transition mean for professional growers, garden centres, and the gardeners themselves? What are the biggest challenges still ahead, and where are the opportunities for innovation and growth?

Phil:
We’ll also explore success stories and the creative solutions emerging in peat-free compost development. It’s about turning challenges into opportunities for a more sustainable future.

Kate:
So, join us for Episode 2, where we’ll take you behind the scenes of the peat-free revolution and highlight the practical steps we can all take to support this vital transition.

Phil:
Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time on The Underground Podcast.