Peat Free Compost

This is why you should go “peat-free”!

In the United Kingdom and many northern countries it has been common practice to use peat, which has usually been cut from lowland peat bogs as a compost. The most famous products of the past, like Levington’s compost were all 100% peat, with added chemical fertiliser to provide nutrients for the young plants.

Peat-free compost is as its name suggests, made without using peat. The term seems to be largely uniquely limited in its use to the United Kingdom, at that is probably due to the fact that until recently there have been abundant sources of peat throughout much of the country, and it was cheap and profitable for peat-bog owners to drain their bogs, dig it out and sell it to gardeners.

[video url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybmv8bYvHIw" height="360" width="480"]

However, it has now reached the point in the UK that the few remaining lowland peat bogs are becoming ever more precious as habitats for the very survival of a number of peat land species. The unique wildlife of peat bogs is now threatened through peat extraction for garden composts, and other uses. Peat land wildlife includes dragonflies, butterflies and many birds. These depend on peat for theirs survival and now that peat-free compost of high quality is being produced by local authority subsidized commercial composting plants, there is an ample supply of peat made from garden waste and that means that nobody has to use peat based compost and all of us can choose alternatives.

Peat-free compost is usually made from green waste (garden and yard waste). It is a completely natural and eco-friendly product with a wide range of uses. It can contain ingredients such as composted garden materials, screened tree-bark, coir and wood fibre.

It has been estimated, and published on the internet that until recently around half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted each year as a result of peat extraction from UK peat bog sites, during its use in horticulture. The true impact on carbon emissions doesn’t stop there though, as this figure doesn’t take into account the fact that the UK imports over half of its peat from overseas, so the overall impact on carbon emissions is substantially greater.

On the positive side, the potting compost suppliers are now selling only largely “peat free” compost which is made from predominantly garden waste materials.

I have Heard of Some People in the UK Getting Free Compost, for their garden or yard. Where Can I Get Free Peat-Free Compost?

From time to time Councils give away peat-free compost to local residents. The UK market for peat free compost is not stable, which means that the sales price for compost varies from nothing to £7 or £8 /tonne in the course of a year (Source: LetsRecycle.com). This is also true, but to a lesser extent, for the high quality compost when composted to the BSI PAS 100 compost standard. At times the compost producers, who compost municipal green waste under contract to the local authorities, will fill up all their storage space, and offer it free of any charge to those residents who turn-up and cart the material off-site as soon as possible.

A quick web search today revealed that Daventry District Council is offering free compost to its residents as well as wood chipping mulch. Others which have made similar gifts to their residents recently are:

Lancaster City Council

The council announced last Friday that the compost, or “soil conditioner” derived from the green waste collected every fortnight from each household in the district, is being made available to local residents. The giveaway, organised by Essex County Council, uses compost made from recycled local garden waste collected through kerbside collections and at recycling centres. The compost has been kindly donated by Countrystyle.

The compost will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis from 9.30am to 4pm in the visitor centre car park on Weald Road, CM14 5QS. Residents are invited to bring their own bags to fill up.

by qnr under CC BY-SA with wpseopix.com

Listed below are some other websites with related information about this Compost topic:

How to Compost : Learn Organic Garden Composting Online ...
Compost tumbler has worms are they good or bad? (what are these? w ...
Windrow composting - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Aerated static pile composting - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Kids - Composting with Willie the Worm

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