Aylett Nurseries, based in St Albans, have become the first independent garden centre to become a full member of the Growing Media Initiative (GMI); the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) led cross industry initiative to reduce peat in bagged growing media.
Developed in conjunction with the Growing Media Association, DIY, supermarkets, garden centre retailers, DEFRA, the RSPB and the Royal Horticultural Society, the GMI seeks to help the horticultural industry reduce peat usage in the UK, and work towards the new target set by Environment Minister Hilary Benn, of bagged growing media to be peat free by 2020.
As part of their application for the GMI, Aylett Nurseries undertook an audit of the growing media they sell, and put in place a peat reduction action plan to progress even further.
Tim Briercliffe, HTA’s Business Development Director, said “It is encouraging to see an independent garden centre joining GMI and as a full member it proves that over 55% of the growing media and soil improvers they sell is not peat. We are seeing an increasing interest from garden centres with Dobbies as provisional members and we would encourage other independent retailers to follow Ayletts lead. GMI provides a perfect route for retailers to work towards achieving 2020 peat replacement target.”
Tel: 0118 930 3132
info@the-hta.org.uk
www.growingmediainitiative.org.uk