A NEW product being made at a Ripon landfill site could safeguard Britain's ancient peat reserves.

Peat reserves are at risk from Britain's gardeners' demand for the organic compound.

Yorwaste, a waste management company based in Northallerton, is working on a composted organic product made solely from greenwaste, such as leaves, branches and grass clippings.

The project aims to produce a growing medium for the horticultural market, as either a blend with, or to replace, peat.

The project has been running successfully for two years at Yorwaste's Harewood Whin landfill site near York.

On both the Ripon and York sites, greenwaste is segregated from other household waste to keep it uncontaminated. It is then weighed and sent to the compost area to be shredded.

Mr Steve Grieve, Yorwaste managing director said: "This is a very exciting development. Not only are we finding an efficient way to deal with household greenwaste, but we are also diverting it from landfill sites