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18th November 2022: Netherlands becomes the 6th country in the world with an official peat reduction strategy for the substrate sector! We are honoured to be one of the signing parties of this groundbreaking agreement and will be part of this process as member of the steering group.

Full description and the English translation and the publication in the government gazette..

We are Stichting Turfvrij (Foundation Peat free)

Small change.
Huge Impact.

Peatland destruction is responsible for 5 percent of the global emissions of greenhouse gases. That's more than all aviation combined.

Een deel van de vernietiging van veengebieden komt voort uit de winning van turf voor gebruik in potgrond en aanverwante producten. Als we dit fossiele materiaal niet meer voor deze doeleinden gebruiken, kunnen we een enorme bijdrage leveren aan de bestrijding van de klimaatcrisis. We durven te stellen dat dit waarschijnlijk het laagst hangende fruit is om echt verschil te maken.

What's the problem with using peat, and why should we bother about muddy peat bogs at all?

Our aim

The goal of turfvrij.nl is to achieve a ban on the use of peat in the Netherlands. This will be a massive milestone in the pursuit of comprehensive global protection of all peat bogs.

What's the solution? What can we do about it? Can we grow plants without using peat?
turfvrije potgrond

Peat-free potting ground

Peat-free plants

Beschermd veengebied

Protected peat bogs

Our story

Because it´s possible

What happened until now? How has public awareness and politics changed internationally and in the Netherlands?
Our story

What scientists are saying

We extract our richest carbon store directly from the ground and convert it into carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is absolute madness and it must stop now! Peat must remain in the ground if we are to fight the climate crisis.
Prof. Dave Goulson, University of Sussex
Peatlands cover only 3% of the Earth's surface. In contrast, forests cover 30%. This is ten times more. Everyone knows that forests are important for the climate. But peatlands are even more important because they contain more carbon than the forests. [...] It is important to protect peatlands: for their biodiversity, for the climate and for all the other ecosystem services they provide.
Prof. Hans Joosten, University of Greifswald
Through photosynthesis, plants extract carbon dioxide from the air and store it as carbon compounds such as carbohydrates. The carbon dioxide is stored as carbon in the peat. Because peat is permanently saturated with water, the carbon is not converted into greenhouse gases. It takes thousands of years to grow these meters of peat layers, but when a peat area is drained, the stored carbon dioxide is released and the process is reversed in just a few years.
Mette Risager, RAG Randers-Favrskov
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