Trewin Restorick explains the goals of Sizzle Innovation’s new trial and how it will deliver change in five areas.
The UK government has announced its intention to ban the sale of peat to amateur gardeners in England, with Wales and Scotland likely to follow suit.
This welcome step will protect biodiversity and help move the UK towards net zero but does pose a couple of intriguing questions. What sustainable material will replace the estimated 1.7 million cubic metres of peat used in horticulture? How ready are gardeners for a peat-free future?
To answer these questions a diverse partnership of organisations has secured funding from a charitable foundation for a localised trial aiming to illustrate how the move from peat can be achieved sustainably and smoothly.
Delivering change
The trial will deliver change in five areas, which include:
- Find more sustainable alternatives to replace peat.
It is possible that derivatives from green, agricultural and food waste could be part of the mix and localised trials will explore this potential. If successful, this could create a circular economy solution securing added value from waste materials.
- Be viable as an alternative to peat contamination from waste streams.
The trial will focus on food waste ensuring it doesn’t contain plastics or other elements which will minimise value. Additionally, it will seek to overcome challenges associated with these waste streams.
- Launch an educational campaign
An educational campaign will be focussed on gardeners demonstrating how best to use peat alternatives as a growing medium and highlighting steps that they can take through composting and the use of wormeries to create their own mulch and soil enhancers.
- Establish leadership team
A diverse leadership team consisting of horticulturalists, retailers, growers, waste management companies, NGOs and the local authority that will be able to use their combined reach and knowledge to maximise the impact of the project.
- Identify legislative blockers
The identification of potential legislative blockers which might be unexpectedly hindering the use of waste derivatives as part of the transition from peat.
The partnership is now seeking an area to deliver the trial and believes it could form an innovative addition for an area with ambitious targets for cutting carbon emissions, reducing waste contamination and building more circular solutions.
To learn more about the scope of the trial and register an interest to be involved, contact trewin@sizzle.org.uk or visit Sizzle’s website.