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25 February 2026
This morning, London commuters did a double take as a mud-covered figure emerged far from its natural home, normally preserved by peat bog, highlighting the devastating impact of commercial peat extraction.
The stunt marks the delivery of a petition signed by more than 16,000 people, calling on the UK Government to legislate to end peat sales in 2026. The petition is backed by the public, retailers, garden centres, professional growers and environmental organisations.
Delivering the petition to 10 Downing Street, Nicola Hutchinson, Interim CEO for global conservation charity Plantlife, said: “Peatlands are home to some of the world’s most distinctive plant communities and are one of our strongest natural allies in tackling climate change. Despite overwhelming public support, the Government has still not set out a clear timetable to end peat sales. We need legislation in 2026 to provide the clarity the horticulture industry so desperately needs to help it flourish, and allow both growers and gardeners to transition into a peat-free future.”
The UK horticulture industry still gets through 760,000 cubic metres of peat per year – enough to fill over 300 Olympic swimming pools and used to grow many of the plants we buy in garden centres and vegetables we buy from our local supermarket. Continued extraction is destroying carbon-rich peat that has taken thousands of years to form.
Gardeners are increasingly aware of the environmental toll of extracting peat with nearly two thirds of gardeners (63%) already only buying peat-free growing media*.
RHS Director General Clare Matterson and Peat Free Partnership Partner said: “Gardeners want to know that when they purchase a plant they are having only a positive impact on the planet. Equipped with the ways and means to grow peat free we now need Government to set out legislation that will help industry make the final transition and ensure our gardens are truly the greenest they can be.”
Guy Singh-Watson, founder of organic veg box company, Riverford, says, “Peat is wonderful at what it does, but it is very problematic. It’s a bit like coal. It’s been buried in the ground for thousands of years, locking up carbon, and we are mining it to grow food. That contributes to climate change and we cannot deny it. We need to push this legislation through and just ban peat.”
The Peat-free Partnership is hosted by Plantlife and brings together horticultural businesses and organisations alongside environmental NGOs across the UK with the goal of ending the sale and supply of peat for horticulture. Partners include the RHS, The Wildlife Trusts, Garden Organic and the National Trust.
For more info and to sign up: Sign the petition to end peat sales! – The Peat-free Partnership
* RHS/You Gov Adults Sustainable Gardening Survey (2025).
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