Go peat-free
Choose peat-free soil and compost
Your Challenge
When spring comes into bloom, many of us will start working on our gardens or repotting houseplants. Before you reach for the bags of soil at the garden centre or supermarket, stop and check the label to see if it’s ‘peat-free’. Try to avoid bags that say ‘reduced peat’ as peat-free is now widely available. If possible, also look for soils certified as organic by the Soil Association.
Why you're doing this
Peatlands are incredibly special habitats, made up of highly adapted plant species and home to a range of rare and important wildlife. They absorb carbon from the atmosphere and lock it up in peat. This helps tackle climate change. [1]
The UK’s peatlands store more carbon than all our forests put together. It can take 1,000 years for peat to reach a depth of one metre, and some peat bogs can be more than 10 metres deep! If we look after peatlands well, they can be our climate ally. But if we damage them, they are less able to help us adapt and respond. Around 80% of the UK’s peatlands are degraded in some way, leaking emissions into our atmosphere and contributing to climate change.[2]
How you'll make a difference
By choosing soils that don’t contain peat you’ll be preserving our important peatland habitats and helping to slow climate change.
Track your progress
in the My Footprint App
Track your progress and discover many more challenges in the My Footprint app. Available for iOS and Android devices.
