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Publication - Consultation analysis

Ending the sale of peat: consultation analysis

Published
21 December 2023
Directorate
Environment and Forestry Directorate
Part of
Environment and climate change
ISBN
9781835217863

Analysis of responses to our consultation on ending the sale of peat in Scotland.

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Appendix A: Quantitative Summary

The following tables outline the results for each of the closed questions in the consultation. Please note that the row percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.

For each question the following tables show:

  • The number of respondents from the total sample of 552 respondents who selected each response, and the corresponding percentage.
  • The number and percentage response among those who answered each question, broken down by:
  • Individual and organisation responses.
  • By type of respondent.
Q3. How many employees are there in your organisation?
Base % Organisations
(n=) 83[9]
<10 35
10-49 12
50-249 7
250+ 23
Not answered 23
Q5. Do you consider environmental impacts when using peat?
Base n= % Yes % No % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 452 39 61
All respondents (%) 552 82 7 11
All answering (%) 491 92 8 -
Individuals 428 91 9 -
Organisations 63 97 3 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 309 97 3 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 53 68 32 -
Individual – Other 53 83 17 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 27 93 7 -
Organisation - eNGO 8 100 0 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 13 100 0 -
Organisation - Growing Media 8 100 0 -
Organisation - Whisky 8 100 0 -
Organisation - Other 12 92 8 -
Q6. Is it easy to find alternatives to peat in your local retail outlet?
Base n= % Yes, they are readily available and clearly labelled % They are there but I need to scrutinise packaging to find them % I often find it hard to tell what is contained within products % I find it very difficult to find alternatives % I actively seek products containing peat and do not wish to use alternatives % I don’t consider what growing media is contained within products % Other (please specify) % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 166 157 41 39 28 3 64 54
All respondents (%) 552 30 28 7 7 5 1 12 10
All answering (%) 498 33 32 8 8 6 1 13 -
Individuals 441 34 33 9 8 6 1 9 -
Organisations 57 30 18 2 9 0 0 42 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 334 38 39 10 4 6 0 3 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 44 11 7 0 30 9 2 41 -
Individual – Other 50 30 18 10 12 8 2 20 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 27 11 30 7 19 4 0 30 -
Organisation - eNGO 9 33 33 0 0 0 0 33 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 10 70 10 0 0 0 0 20 -
Organisation - Growing Media 7 57 0 0 0 0 0 43 -
Organisation - Whisky 5 0 0 0 20 0 0 80 -
Organisation - Other 12 17 25 8 8 0 0 42 -
Q7a. When buying growing media, on what do you base your choice? - Performance
Base n= % Not important % Quite important % Important % Very important % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 15 102 184 158 93
All respondents (%) 552 3 18 33 29 17
All answering (%) 459 3 22 40 34 -
Individuals 409 4 24 43 29 -
Organisations 50 0 6 16 78 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 328 2 26 46 26 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 25 16 8 40 36 -
Individual – Other 43 7 23 33 37 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 28 0 11 7 82 -
Organisation - eNGO 8 0 0 38 63 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 11 0 0 9 91 -
Organisation - Growing Media 7 0 0 14 86 -
Organisation - Whisky 1 0 0 0 100 -
Organisation - Other 8 0 25 38 38 -
Q7b. When buying growing media, on what do you base your choice? - Cost
Base n= % Not important % Quite important % Important % Very important % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 27 169 184 77 95
All respondents (%) 552 5 31 33 14 17
All answering (%) 457 6 37 40 17 -
Individuals 408 7 37 39 17 -
Organisations 49 0 35 47 18 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 325 7 39 42 12 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 27 7 4 37 52 -
Individual – Other 43 2 44 30 23 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 28 4 29 43 25 -
Organisation - eNGO 8 0 50 38 13 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 11 0 18 64 18 -
Organisation - Growing Media 6 0 33 33 33 -
Organisation - Whisky 1 0 100 0 0 -
Organisation - Other 8 0 63 25 13 -
Q7c. When buying growing media, on what do you base your choice? – Consistent product quality
Base n= % Not important % Quite important % Important % Very important % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 19 110 201 125 97
All respondents (%) 552 3 20 36 23 18
All answering (%) 455 4 24 44 27 -
Individuals 405 5 26 47 22 -
Organisations 50 0 6 22 72 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 325 4 28 48 20 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 25 8 16 52 24 -
Individual – Other 42 7 24 40 29 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 28 0 11 29 61 -
Organisation - eNGO 8 0 0 50 50 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 11 0 0 18 82 -
Organisation - Growing Media 7 0 0 0 100 -
Organisation - Whisky 1 0 0 0 100 -
Organisation - Other 8 0 25 25 50 -
Q7d. When buying growing media, on what do you base your choice? – Environmental consequences
Base n= % Not important % Quite important % Important % Very important % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 20 34 53 356 89
All respondents (%) 552 4 6 10 64 16
All answering (%) 463 4 7 11 77 -
Individuals 412 5 7 10 79 -
Organisations 51 0 12 25 63 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 331 2 5 8 85 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 25 32 16 36 16 -
Individual – Other 43 16 19 5 60 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 28 0 7 25 68 -
Organisation - eNGO 9 0 0 0 100 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 11 0 0 36 64 -
Organisation - Growing Media 7 0 29 43 29 -
Organisation - Whisky 1 0 0 0 100 -
Organisation - Other 8 0 25 13 63 -
Q7e. When buying growing media, on what do you base your choice? – Brand loyalty
Base n= % Not important % Quite important % Important % Very important % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 382 44 15 7 104
All respondents (%) 552 69 8 3 1 19
All answering (%) 448 85 10 3 2 -
Individuals 400 88 8 3 1 -
Organisations 48 63 29 4 4 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 321 91 6 2 1 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 24 71 17 8 4 -
Individual – Other 42 79 14 2 5 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 27 70 19 11 0 -
Organisation - eNGO 8 100 0 0 0 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 10 50 30 10 10 -
Organisation - Growing Media 7 29 71 0 0 -
Organisation - Whisky 1 0 0 0 100 -
Organisation - Other 8 75 25 0 0 -
Q8a. Is the information provided on growing media packaging (e.g. printed on bags of compost) or signage sufficient to allow you to make an informed decision regarding the environmental impact of its contents?
Base n= % Yes % No % I don't look at information on packaging/ signage % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 134 301 44 73
All respondents (%) 552 24 55 8 13
All answering (%) 479 28 63 9 -
Individuals 435 28 62 10 -
Organisations 44 27 68 5 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 336 27 69 4 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 36 50 14 36 -
Individual – Other 50 22 46 32 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 25 20 76 4 -
Organisation - eNGO 7 14 86 0 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 9 22 78 0 -
Organisation - Growing Media 5 60 40 0 -
Organisation - Whisky 1 100 0 0 -
Organisation - Other 10 20 70 10 -
Q8b. Is the information provided on growing media packaging (e.g. printed on bags of compost) or signage sufficient to allow you to make an informed decision regarding whether growing media contains peat?
Base n= % Yes % No % I don't look at information on packaging /signage % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 281 164 36 71
All respondents (%) 552 51 30 7 13
All answering (%) 481 58 34 7 -
Individuals 435 58 34 8 -
Organisations 46 65 30 4 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 335 61 37 1 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 36 56 8 36 -
Individual – Other 51 37 31 31 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 25 56 40 4 -
Organisation - eNGO 8 38 63 0 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 9 89 11 0 -
Organisation - Growing Media 6 100 0 0 -
Organisation - Whisky 1 100 0 0 -
Organisation - Other 10 40 50 10 -
Q9. Do you think there should be more information about the growing medium present in potted plants at the point of sale?
Base n= % Yes, so I can make an informed decision on what I purchase % Yes, so I can avoid buying plants in peat % I don't wish to know what growing medium the plants I buy are growing in % The plants I buy display information detailing the growing medium used % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 181 245 35 10 81
All respondents (%) 552 33 44 6 2 15
All answering (%) 471 38 52 7 2 -
Individuals 425 37 54 8 2 -
Organisations 46 54 35 7 4 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 332 33 62 4 1 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 32 59 6 28 6 -
Individual – Other 48 44 33 17 6 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 23 43 43 9 4 -
Organisation - eNGO 11 64 36 0 0 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 8 63 38 0 0 -
Organisation - Growing Media 5 40 20 40 0 -
Organisation - Whisky 1 100 0 0 0 -
Organisation - Other 11 64 18 9 9 -
Q10. If you are a retailer/grower, how difficult would it be to indicate whether peat is present in growing medium within pots?
Base n= % Impossible % Difficult % Fairly Easy % Very Easy % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 10 14 14 28 486
All respondents (%) 552 2 3 3 5 88
All answering (%) 66 15 21 21 42 -
Individuals 37 19 19 27 35 -
Organisations 29 10 24 14 52 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 17 29 12 12 47 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 7 0 29 57 14 -
Individual – Other 8 25 13 38 25 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 11 0 27 9 64 -
Organisation - eNGO 5 0 20 0 80 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 10 20 30 20 30 -
Organisation - Growing Media 3 0 33 33 33 -
Organisation - Whisky 0 - - - - -
Organisation - Other 5 20 20 20 40 -
Q11a. Could you or your company stop using peat now?
Base n= % Yes % No % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 286 128 138
All respondents (%) 552 52 23 25
All answering (%) 414 69 31 -
Individuals 351 74 26 -
Organisations 63 43 57 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 242 90 10 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 49 20 80 -
Individual – Other 47 47 53 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 28 61 39 -
Organisation - eNGO 9 89 11 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 12 42 58 -
Organisation - Growing Media 8 25 75 -
Organisation - Whisky 8 0 100 -
Organisation - Other 11 45 55 -
Q11b. If you answered 'no' then why can't you stop using peat now?
Base n= % Availability of suitable alternatives % Cost % Change in equipment/machinery required % Storage % Performance % Other (please specify) % No answer
All respondents (n=) 128 75 70 21 14 46 27 4
All respondents (%) 128 59 55 16 11 36 21 <0.5
All answering (%) 124 60 56 17 11 37 22 -
Individuals 88 51 60 15 9 28 19 -
Organisations 36 83 47 22 17 58 28 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 23 48 35 4 4 35 13 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 38 47 89 21 11 26 13 -
Individual – Other 24 58 38 13 13 25 38 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 11 82 82 36 0 73 9 -
Organisation - eNGO 1 100 0 0 0 0 0 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 7 100 43 14 29 71 14 -
Organisation - Growing Media 6 100 100 67 67 100 50 -
Organisation - Whisky 8 63 0 0 0 25 25 -
Organisation - Other 6 67 17 0 0 17 50 -
Q13. Is peat necessary for propagation (raising a plant from a seed/bulb/corm/tuber/vegetative cutting)?
Base n= % Yes (please specify) % No % Sometimes (please specify) % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 34 296 27 195
All respondents (%) 552 6 54 5 35
All answering (%) 357 10 83 8 -
Individuals 302 6 89 6 -
Organisations 55 31 51 18 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 244 5 92 4 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 19 11 63 26 -
Individual – Other 27 11 81 7 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 26 27 62 12 -
Organisation - eNGO 11 18 82 0 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 12 25 42 33 -
Organisation - Growing Media 8 63 13 25 -
Organisation - Whisky 1 0 100 0 -
Organisation - Other 9 11 67 22 -
Q14. Are there any instances where a % of peat should be permitted within a container-grown plant and what are those instances?
Base n= % A small percentage should be allowed to account for that which is transferred when replanting propagated material % A percentage should be allowed, for a finite period of time, to facilitate transition away from peat for certain plants (please specify plant and %) % None / No instances / 0% % Other (please specify) % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 45 60 103 36 316
All respondents (%) 552 8 11 19 7 57
All answering (%) 236 19 25 44 15 -
Individuals 193 20 24 48 10 -
Organisations 43 16 33 23 37 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 150 17 23 55 7 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 9 44 33 0 22 -
Individual – Other 24 25 25 25 25 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 19 21 26 32 37 -
Organisation - eNGO 10 0 20 40 30 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 12 25 33 17 33 -
Organisation - Growing Media 7 29 29 14 43 -
Organisation - Whisky 0 - - - - -
Organisation - Other 5 0 60 20 20 -
Q15. Should there be a ban on the sale of peat and peat-containing products in Scotland?
Base n= % Yes - for all/ most peat sales % Yes - for all horticultural peat sales % Yes - for retail horticultural peat sales (amateur/ hobby gardeners) % Yes - for professional horticultural peat sales % No % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 320 61 24 10 99 38
All respondents (%) 552 58 11 4 2 18 7
All answering (%) 514 62 12 5 2 19 -
Individuals 448 65 11 4 2 18 -
Organisations 66 47 15 9 0 29 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 330 76 12 4 1 8 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 50 6 18 2 10 64 -
Individual – Other 56 45 5 5 5 39 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 26 58 4 19 0 19 -
Organisation - eNGO 15 80 13 0 0 7 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 12 50 17 0 0 33 -
Organisation - Growing Media 8 0 13 13 0 75 -
Organisation - Whisky 3 0 67 33 0 0 -
Organisation - Other 14 50 14 7 0 29 -
Q16. Will your business be affected by a peat ban?
Base n= % Yes, positively % Yes, negatively % No % No answer
All respondents (n=) 552 29 75 116 332
All respondents (%) 552 5 14 21 60
All answering (%) 220 13 34 53 -
Individuals 159 8 25 67 -
Organisations 61 26 57 16 -
Individual - Hobby / Private Gardener 86 5 7 88 -
Individual - Peat extractor / fuel for domestic use 28 11 61 29 -
Individual – Other 32 9 47 44 -
Professional gardener / commercial grower 29 24 41 34 -
Organisation - eNGO 7 57 14 29 -
Organisation - Retail plant sales 12 42 50 8 -
Organisation - Growing Media 8 13 88 0 -
Organisation - Whisky 7 0 100 0 -
Organisation - Other 11 18 36 45 -

Contact

Email: horticultural.peat@gov.scot

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