The UK's horticultural industry must stop using peat in compost products if the country is to meet its 2050 net zero emissions goals, one of the country's largest resource management firms has declared.

Late last week Veolia warned 280,000 tonnes of UK peatland - a vital carbon sink - are being destroyed each year to fuel gardeners' demand for the nutrient-rich substance to use as a garden compost and fertiliser.

"Peatlands are currently being destroyed at breakneck speed in the UK," warned Richard Kirkman, chief technology and innovation officer at Veolia UK and Ireland. "At this rate a vital ecosystem along with its wildlife and broader environmental value will be lost. Peatlands are carbon sinks, no different to rainforests like the Amazon - and yet peat decimation is happening on British soil."

UK peatlands are estimated to contain around 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon, which is around nine years' worth of the UK's total annual CO2 emissions. Last year the government's climate watchdog, the Committee on Climate Change, warned 55 to 70 per cent of  the UK's peatlands will need to be restored to help the UK meet its climate goals.

Despite the governments calls in 2011 for retailers to reduce peat use by 2020, as of 2017 some 56 per cent of 'growing material' such as compost, soil conditioners and potting soil is still peat based.

Veolia, which claims to be the largest peat-free composter in the UK, argues compost made from green waste collected from households can be just as effective as peat-based compost.

It produces around 150,000 tonnes of peat-free compost every year, from around 400,000 tonnes of household green waste.

But the firm says the UK's gardening industry is still heavily focused on peat-based products, and as such it is now calling on the government to introduce a national ban to force them to switch to lower emission alternatives.

"Government must act on two fronts; incentivise peat-free compost for consumers while discouraging peat use through a phased, wholesale ban," said Kirkman. "If we are serious about our planet's health and childrens' futures we need a root and branch removal of such a ruinous practice, especially when there is an alternative readily on hand to replace it."

In response to Veolia, a spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the government may consider a ban if industry does not demonstrate enough progress. 

"We were clear in our 25 Year Environment Plan that if we have not seen sufficient movement to peat alternatives by 2020 we will look at introducing further measures to quicken change," they said. "Later this year we will publish the England Peat Strategy, which will set out our vision to reverse decline in peatlands as part of our commitment to leave the natural environment in a better state than we found it."