burning peat

new2012

Why is it OK to burn peat in your fire but not to use peat in your garden.

At least using peat in your garden doesn't destroy it.

I'm getting fed up with the radio adds about environmentally friendly peat heat.

ed110220

new2012 wrote: »

Why is it OK to burn peat in your fire but not to use peat in your garden.

At least using peat in your garden doesn't destroy it.

I'm getting fed up with the radio adds about environmentally friendly peat heat.

I haven't heard anything about burning peat being environmentally friendly. There are two issues:

a) digging up the peat on a large scale destroys the bogs and their ecosystem

b) peat is essentially plant matter preserved by acidity and lack of oxygen. When you use it in the garden, it's no longer preserved and decays like any other dead organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. The same thing happens of course if you burn it.

Ben84

Who says burning peat is environmentally friendly?! I'm pretty sure it isn't as it involves draining the bog and digging it up, which is damaging a fairly small and important ecosystem (peat bogs sequester carbon, filter water and support a load of organisms specific to them), plus it emits very old carbon back in to the atmosphere. It doesn't regenerate fast either, it takes a thousand years to make a meter of peat.

As for gardening, peat isn't sustainable for the garden either. I mainly use coconut coir instead now.

new2012

Who says burning peat is environmentally friendly?!

The company who is driving me batty with their annoying peat heat adverts on my local radio station.

whasup

I think you'll find the environmental claim is due to lower pollution rather than anything to do with C02. (because burning peat is a lot less polluting than burning coal) The ecological damage from digging peat is a price to pay but if your only other option is coal - which it is for a lot of people - then maybe peat is a reasonable alternative. Plus a lot of people do still make their living from it.

Marcusp

I wonder if the price for peat for burning is more or less than the price of peat for gardening?

ed110220

Marcusp wrote: »

I wonder if the price for peat for burning is more or less than the price of peat for gardening?

Probably less as it'll be drier and more compressed, so lighter and less bulky than horticultural peat, therefore cheaper to transport.