Greener Planet Policy
Cocopeat is a renewable resource unlike peat moss, which has taken centuries to evolve. The extensive use of traditional peat moss in horticulture has resulted in the depletion of natural bogs (swamps), an essential part of our wildlife heritage. Peat moss extraction harms the unique and fragile wetlands ecosystem. There are many highly adapted plant and animal species that are found only in peat bogs. The destruction of the world’s wetlands is progressing at an alarming rate. In the UK alone 75% of blanket bogs and 94% of raised bogs have been destroyed over the past century. UK gardeners and horticulture use a staggering 2.55 million cubic meters of peat moss each year. We can all play our part in assuring the conservation of peat bogs by using alternative substrates to peat moss such as cocopeat.
Our wetlands cover only 3% of the Earth’s land surface, but may store 16-24% of all soil-borne carbon. (Peat bogs absorb carbon dioxide and store it as carbon.) When peat bogs are drained for peat extraction, the bog has less capacity to absorb carbon. Bogs where peat has been extracted support the growth of enzymes that directly release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. The extraction of peat itself also releases into the atmosphere carbon dioxide which has been building up in the bogs for thousands of years. This in turn impacts upon global warming. Wetlands are therefore crucial for the health of the planet and the argument for their preservation is very powerful.