Response 364305940

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Your use of peat

4. For what purpose do you use peat?

Please select all that apply
Gardening - professional
Gardening - amateur
Growing ornamentals - professional
Growing fruit/vegetables - professional
Retail sales
Business to business sales of peat
Heating - extracted from own/rented land for own use as fuel
Heating - buy for own use as fuel
Heating - sell for fuel
Food/drink production processes (please specify)
Other (please specify)
Please specify if necessary
I have tried to use peat-free compost for years, but it is not always available.

5. Do you consider environmental impacts when using peat?

Please select one item
Yes
No
If so, please explain your concerns and the measures you take to avoid using peat
I am aware if the damage to the environment caused by draining bogs and using peat. I try to buy peat-free compost and also make my own.

6. Is it easy to find alternatives to peat in your local retail outlet?

Please select one item
Yes, they are readily available and clearly labelled
They are there but I need to scrutinise packaging to find them
I often find it hard to tell what is contained within products
I find it very difficult to find alternatives
I actively seek products containing peat and do not wish to use alternatives
I don’t consider what growing media is contained within products
Other (please specify)

7. When buying growing media, on what do you base your choice?

Not important Quite important Important Very important
Not important Quite important Important Very important
Not important Quite important Important Very important
Not important Quite important Important Very important
Not important Quite important Important Very important

Labelling of horticultural products

8. Is the information provided on growing media packaging (e.g. printed on bags of compost) or signage sufficient to allow you to make an informed decision regarding:

Yes No I don't look at information on packaging/signage
Yes No I don't look at information on packaging/signage

9. Do you think there should be more information about the growing medium present in potted plants at the point of sale?

Please select one item
Yes, so I can make an informed decision on what I purchase
Yes, so I can avoid buying plants in peat
I don't wish to know what growing medium the plants I buy are growing in
The plants I buy display information detailing the growing medium used

Moving away from using peat

11a. Could you or your company stop using peat now?

Please select one item
Yes
No

13. Is peat necessary for propagation (raising a plant from a seed/bulb/corm/tuber/vegetative cutting)?

Please select one item
Yes (please specify)
No
Sometimes (please specify)
Please specify if necessary
Coir is a good alternative.

14. Are there any instances where a % of peat should be permitted within a container-grown plant and what are those instances?

Please select all that apply
A small percentage should be allowed to account for that which is transferred when replanting propagated material
A percentage should be allowed, for a finite period of time, to facilitate transition away from peat for certain plants (please specify plant and %)
Other (please specify)
Please explain further if necessary
I suppose plants like shrubs and trees which take years to mature would need a phase out timescale.

15. Should there be a ban on the sale of peat and peat-containing products in Scotland?

Please select one item
Yes - for all/most peat sales
Yes - for all horticultural peat sales
Yes - for retail horticultural peat sales (amateur/hobby gardeners)
Yes - for professional horticultural peat sales
No

17. In what year should peat sales stop for retail horticulture (amateur/hobby gardeners)?

Please state year
2024

18. In what year should peat sales stop for professional horticulture (growers/landscapers/producers/business to business horticultural enterprises)?

Please state year. You may break this down to different years for different parts of the sector.
2027

19. In what year should peat sales stop for other uses? (please specify)

Please specify use(s) and year(s)
Asap

Understanding the impact of banning the sale of peat

21. Could outcomes arising from this consultation have implications, positive or negative, for the environment?

Please explain potential implications for the environment
Banning peat would be positive for the environment. I believe there is a company in England that extracts peat from reservoir water and that would obviously be OK.

22. Might outcomes arising from this consultation affect one age group more than another, either in a positive or negative way? Please specify and explain.

Please specify age group and provide explanation
No

23. Might any outcomes arising from this consultation have any positive or negative impacts on data protection or privacy?

Please specify impact on data protection or privacy
No

24. Could any outcomes arising from this consultation have any positive or negative impacts on those on low incomes or in socio-economically disadvantaged areas?

Please specify impacts on socio-economically disadvantaged groups or areas
No

25. Might any outcomes arising from this consultation have any positive or negative impacts specific to island communities?

Please specify potential impacts on island communities
I expect peat extraction jobs could be lost, however help should be given to encourage tourism.

Anything else you'd like to tell us

26. Please use this space for anything else you'd like to tell us in relation to ending the sale of peat.

Local vegetable waste which has been converted into compost by councils should be made available for free or very cheaply. Since Covid this provision has been very patchy.

About you

29. Are you responding as an individual or an organisation?

Please select one item
(Required)
Individual
Organisation - commercial business
Organisation - eNGO
Organisation - trade body
Other (please specify)