SproutAtlas
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Cartoon: Peat compost → Peat-free compost A bog for millennia,a bag for one season.

Instead of

Peat compost Peat-free compost

Why switch

Healthier

Peat-free mixes — coir, wood fibre, composted bark — raise seedlings just as well, with no trade-off at the potting bench.

Greener

Digging up peat turns ancient carbon sinks into emitters; damaged peatlands are about 5% of human CO₂.

The impact

You, per year 10 kg CO₂
All of the world 81 billion kg CO₂ skipped / year

If everyone across the world switched, every year that’s:

  • 81 billion kg CO₂

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Reduce

Check the bag says “peat-free”; make your own compost where you can.

Reuse

Refresh and reuse old potting mix with a little home compost.

Recycle

Spent compost feeds beds and borders; many bags recycle with carrier bags.

Sources

  1. IUCN — Peatlands and climate change: drained/extracted peatlands emit ≈5% of global anthropogenic CO₂
  2. The Wildlife Trusts — climate impact of horticultural peat use in the UK
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