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End of peat based composts: What will replace it?

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IanDH:
I hope that this announcement is not a recycled version of the one that announced a ban by 2011.

Per - England Peat Action Plan (May 2021)
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987859/england-peat-action-plan.pdf

"We will consult on banning the sale of peat and peat containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this parliament."

As usual it appears the press has jumped with what it wants to hear.  The only actual announcement was a consultation on a ban by the end on this Parliament.  In full the specific action point reads:

Actions:
We will consult on banning the sale of peat and peat containing products in the amateur sector by the end of this parliament. We will publish a full consultation in 2021 to examine the feasibility of the following measures, to end the use of horticultural peat in both the amateur and professional sectors:
● Setting absolute deadlines to ban the sale of peat in both the amateur and professional sectors.
● Introducing a point-of-sale charge for the purchase of growing media containing peat. This could use the plastic bag charge as a model.
● Mandating all sellers of horticultural products containing peat, including plants, to publicly report on the volume of peat they sell each year (in bags or plant pots).
● Issuing a call for evidence on the wider uses of peat and peat products in the retail sector; for example - grass turf production, cosmetics and industries where peat forms part of the production process.

Beersmith:

--- Quote from: IanDH on May 26, 2021, 17:30:23 ---I hope that this announcement is not a recycled version of the one that announced a ban by 2011.

--- End quote ---

It was an announcement made by George Eustice, the environment secretary on 18th May.

Mr Eustice confirmed plans to ban sales of peat products by the end of this Parliament in 2024, subject to consultation, to preserve carbon-storing peatland habitat.

So I suppose much depends on how much trust you place in what the government tells you.  I took it at face value initially.  But given the amount of pure fiction that emanates from the current government it might just be one of those promises that will be quietly forgotten in due course. Who knows?

Paulh:
Fictions of this type emanate from governments of all hues. One set of pressure groups persuades ministers that X is the right thing to do (whether it's environmental, social welfare, education ...), it looks like a quick win, so it's announced as policy and then the government finds that the counterarguments that had been made weren't all just the negative opposition of entrenched interests.

Promoting diesel over petrol worked well, didn't it. Next up, it's electric cars that we haven't got enough charging points for and need batteries whose green footprint isn't great. No new gas boilers in a few years, we will have to rely on better insulation which most houses don't have, use electricity which will be more than renewables can supply, or hydrogen which hasn't been developed as a consumer supply yet, or use heat pumps which are like having a large, noisy air conditioning unit in your back garden.

It's never an option to improve the existing technology and leverage gains more widely off that, there's no publicity in that.

Rant over.

saddad:
How can you tell when a politician is lying....

their lips are moving...

IanDH:
It was George Eustace that the Ministerial Forward for the report I highlighted is attributed to - probably only read the summary.

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