Environmental Statement

Levington Brand
Levington composts are based on English sphagnum peat which is only harvested from peat bogs designated as Non-SSSI.

Some Levington branded products contain a proportion of peat from other countries.  For example, Levington CNS composts include 33%-50% of Shamrock Irish peat.  Scotts will only use peat from bogs designated as Non-SSSI or the equivalent status according to the country of origin.

Shamrock Brands
These peat and compost products are produced exclusively from Irish sphagnum peat harvested by Bord na Mona.  The areas worked by them are not considered by the Irish authorities to have any conservation value and so the peat status can be described as 'non-SSSI'.  Ireland terms these non-SSSI peat bogs.

Scotts Position on Reducing Peat Usage
Scotts is a member of the Growing Media Association (GMA) and has agreed to government targets to achieve 40% market share for peat alternatives by 2005.  Much of this reduction is being achieved by the replacement of peat by bark, wood-waste and other materials for soil improvement and other applications of low crop sensivitity.

For professional plant production in containers, Scotts believes that peat or high-peat mixes still represent the best value for producers and growers.  This is based on performance, reliability, safety, availability , weight and cost.

Scotts recognises that some customers and their clients would like to see the use of peat in professional growing media reduced further and is committed to providing them with appropriate choices selected on the criteria above.

Reduced Peat Media
We now make available Levington Pro and Shamrock media containing a proportion of specially composted mixed conifer bark.  This material is the most cost-effective diluent we can offer at the present time.  Further R&D may enable us to increase the non-peat proportion and to offer better alternatives for this use.

Scotts now supply many customers with reduced peat mixes according to their requirements.  The reduced peat part is mainly bark but other materials like wood waste, coir and green waste can be included.

Peat-fee Potting Compost
With improved bark processing technology Scotts now offers this peat-free option for bedding, pot plant and general nursery stock applications.  It is based on a blend of our new, composted bark and coir.  Performance depends on management and with careful attention to watering and fertigation, very acceptable performance can be obtained which is equivalent to growing in peat.

Summary
Scotts is the leading growing media company in the UK and Ireland and we shall continue to develop and supply professional mixes based on the most cost-effective blends of substraits.  Currently Scotts offer customers the choice of raw material used in growing media mixes.  If peat is included then there is a further choice of English or Irish source.  This can be 100% or reduced with composted bark and/or other available raw material.

We have been working for over 25 years to find ways to improve upon or replace some or all peat with renewable or waste materials from the UK and continue to do so.

Whilst Scotts UK Professional is not planning to eliminate peat from all it's growing media in any specified time frame, we shall endeavour to utilise renewable or waste materials to reduce peat usage wherever it is appropriate and safe to do so.