Titolo 1

​Key points

• Peat is the most widely used growing media constituent, because it combines several properties growers need in one consistent material.

• No single other organic constituent offers the same combination today, so most mixes that use less or no peat combine several materials.

• All constituents, including peat, have environmental impacts. What matters is the footprint of the whole mix and how well plants grow in it.

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What is peat?

Peat is partly decomposed plant material, mainly Sphagnum mosses, that builds up over thousands of years in waterlogged peatlands where lack of oxygen slows decay. Horticulture uses both weakly decomposed peat (often called white peat) and more strongly decomposed peat (black peat). In the EU, roughly 60% of peat used in growing media is the weakly decomposed type.

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Sources: GME Aligned Terminology; Schmilewski (2017), data for 2013, EU-16.

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Why do growers use it?

• Water and air together. Peat holds a lot of water while leaving room for air around the roots.

• Low in nutrients and acidic. Growers can easily add exactly the lime and fertiliser each crop needs.

• Consistent. Properties stay much the same from batch to batch, which matters when a failed crop can't simply be restarted.

• Structure. More decomposed peat holds its shape, which is why it is used for plant plugs, propagation blocks and mushroom casing soil.

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How much is used?

Peat accounts for about half of growing media produced worldwide, and around three quarters of growing media used in the EU by volume (70-75%, 2020).

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What about other constituents?

Coir, wood fibre, bark, green compost and mineral materials are used more and more, and each of them has specific strengths. Because each material behaves differently, they are usually combined.

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GME's life cycle assessment with Wageningen University & Research found that peat has a high climate impact per cubic metre, mostly from carbon released as it breaks down during use, but that the ranking changes when all sixteen environmental impact categories are counted.

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Source: Migoni Alejandre et al. (2026), Journal of Cleaner Production.

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GME's position

GME supports reducing environmental impacts across the whole sector, based on evidence. That means looking at the full footprint of each mix and its performance for growers, and keeping access to all the constituents growers need, peat included.