Gardeners urged to stop using peat-based compost

Aurora · Post by **Aurora** » 09 Mar 2010, 18:46

The Independent - 09/03/10

Extraction releases huge amounts of CO2 into atmosphere

The star of the BBC's Gardeners' World has been drafted in by the Government as they try to persuade the public to stop using peat compost.

Ministers hope that Diarmuid Gavin will help them convince gardeners to stop using peat, which is present in almost half of all compost sold by garden centres.

Yesterday the Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced a new target to phase out the use of peat compost in amateur gardens by 2020 but shied away from imposing a ban, provoking criticism from members of wildlife groups who said that ministers should have taken stronger action years ago.

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