Environmental Protection Agency may be last hope for users of Irish moss peat

Harvesting turf in Latvia, one of the countries on which Ireland may have to rely for imports of peat moss for horticulture, now that Bord Na Móna’s peat harvesting has ended. Peat moss for the Irish horticulture industry came from an estimated 1.5% of irish peatlands. The horticulture industry says it cannot replace it and wants production to continue, supervised by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Irish companies which supply 60% of the mushrooms sold in UK supermarkets, along with plant nurseries, have called for peat harvesting to resume in Ireland, rather than having to import peat, which is a vital ingredient for their businesses.

Bord Na Móna’s last full peat harvest took place in 2018, followed by a partial harvest in 2019 and a full suspension of harvesting operations in 2020.