Friday 17th November 2023
The House of Lords have now published their report into the horticulture sector after evidence sessions and written submissions from a wide cross section of the industry. Dejex’s written submission focused mainly around the issues of a peat ban, its effects, environmental impact and possible implications for commercial horticulture.
The full written submission from Dejex can be found here:
Points raised by Dejex were taken into consideration in the full report from the House of Lords extracts of which can be read below:
344. Even when alternatives are available, Dejex Supplies noted the limited supply of high-quality materials for the market.498 This lack of availability means that peat-free products may be more expensive than peat-containing materials. Sarah Squire, Chairman at Squire’s Garden Centres, told us that this was partly due to competition with other industries, for example wood derived products are in high demand.499
356. We also heard that peat alternatives may result in increased emissions from travel. Dejex Supplies told us that peat-free substrates may result in reduced average volume per lorry load due to the need to use dense composted materials such as barks or green waste to achieve water holding and buffering requirements. The company estimates that this may result in over 7,000 more lorry deliveries in the UK.514 Ben Malin told us that Coir, a coconut fibre imported typically from South Asia to markets all over the world, has a long supply chain to reach the UK. He suggested that “it would be foolhardy to build an industry in the UK on a product that is entirely imported and to which we are very vulnerable to”.515
357. Not only does Coir need to be transported from overseas, but reliance on this material may also lead to increased biodiversity loss in sub-tropical regions that are species risk. Dejex Supplies told us that coir from coconut palm plantations has a significantly higher biodiversity loss per hectare than palm oil.516 Ben Malin explained the impact on his business: “We used to take peat from next to our factory, combine it with some other products that all came from within five miles, manufacture the compost and distribute it. Now I have coir from India, wood fibre from round the country, and woodchip. I bring it in, reconstitute the coir with machinery powered by diesel. I chip wood with diesel and process that stuff. Then I put it in a bag and put in three times as much oil based fertiliser. I am not at all sure that we have gone the right way with this, but successive Governments decided that peat reduction was the way to go.”517
358. Peat-free alternatives may present greater biosecurity and plant health risks. For example, we heard that green waste has a higher probability of contamination with herbicides and heavy metals, anaerobic digestate waste contains macro and microplastic and unstable nutrient levels, while timber products decompose in substrate attracting bacteria and fungi. Dejex Supplies wrote that “as the industry is forced to use less consistent alternatives this risk increases, inevitably suppliers will need to increase gross margins to make the risk commercially acceptable”.518
Dejex’s written submission is part of our commitment to the industry, ensuring sensible considered views are heard by policy makers concerning the withdrawal of peat from horticulture.