[James Kilkelly, was GPI.]

Bord na Móna will stop exploiting peat bogs.

STATE-OWNED energy company Bord na Móna plans to invest €1.4 billion in expanding and moving the group away from its traditional activities over the next five years. The company will stop exploiting peat bogs, the purpose for which it was founded in 1946, over the next two decades, and refocus its business on a mix of energy, waste-management and recovery, and horticulture.

The group's horticultural business supplies peat moss fertilisers to markets in Ireland and Britain, where its biggest customer is DIY chain B&Q. The British government wants manufacturers of these products to reduce the amount of peat in their fertilisers. Bord na Móna has successfully developed a system of converting organic waste from gardens and parks into fertiliser, which reduces the need for peat moss.

Read more here........ http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0722/1216627319676.html