Three questions with Kai Battenberg about paludiculture

A few years ago, we concluded that peat is best left in the ground. From next year onwards, toom Baumarkt will be the first DIY store in Germany to be completely free of peat in its potting soils. This was a process that took many years. Along the way, we have optimised our formulations so that we can gradually replace peat with renewable peat substitutes without our customers having to compromise on the quality of the substrate they are used to. And as an industry pioneer, we are also working closely with our suppliers to continually reduce the use of peat in our facilities.

The term “paludiculture” translates directly as “swamp cultivation”. In practice, this means re-wetting old peatlands that are currently used for agriculture. This prevents further degradation of the remaining peat in the soil and the production of large amounts of CO2. By cultivating suitable raw materials on the rewetted areas, valuable resources can still be obtained for various applications. For example, cattails and grasses can be used for insulation. At the same time, this protects the climate and supports biodiversity at these sites.

We see the Alliance as an important lever for solving the ‘chicken and egg’ problem in paludiculture. Understandably, farmers will only agree to rewet their land if they can be sure that the material they produce will be bought consistently over a long period of time. Industrial companies will only use paludiculture raw materials if there is a long-term guarantee of quantity, quality, and price. This is the advantage of the Alliance, which brings together different stakeholders in this process. Our vision is to be able to use paludiculture raw materials in packaging, for example, or as a peat substitute in our potting soil formulations. Other applications in different product ranges in DIY stores are also conceivable.