Do you use peat in your garden - I wish you wouldn't! About 70% of UK peat use is through retail sales to you and me (except not me - so it must be you).
Peat doesn't come from bags - it comes from peatlands and its mining destroys peat habitats and its use leads to totally unnecessary increased carbon emissions. Annual carbon dioxide emissions from horticultural peat use are 630,000 tonnes. That's a lot of carbon.
We have been banging on about alternatives to peat for garden use for ages now and I know that many RSPB members have reduced or eliminated their peat use. I'm no gardener - I'm really not - but I am told by those who are that good alternatives to peat are available.
And governments always prefer asking people, rather quietly, to use less peat. It's that voluntary Big Society thing - although that's also the approach that the previous Labour government relied on too. And we know it doesn't work very well.
Back in the 1990s - remember them? - a target was set for 90% of materials used in growing media and soil improvers to be non-peat alternatives by 2010. The target was missed by 32%. And things aren't getting better very quickly - between 2007 and 2009 total UK peat use fell by a very small 1.63%. That's not a great success for the voluntary approach.
Since the Government is looking for green taxes - I can't help but think a tax on peat use might be a good one.
Think you missed the first bit of my first comment just use small amount each year for seeds would guess about 1kg and would not like to do without that and while not wishing to sound complacent think that amount is not very damaging.