Yorkshire trust plays founding role in major plastic reduction scheme

A small Yorkshire-based trust has pioneered a national collection network which could prevent tonnes of plastic polluting the UK’s forests and hedgerows each year.

Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) began by collecting redundant plastic tree shelters in the region, but has now gone on to play a founding role in one of the most coordinated responses to woodland plastic pollution anywhere in the UK.

Following the launch of its initial collection efforts, the Trust partnered with UK manufacturer Tubex in 2020 to establish one of the country’s first dedicated collection hubs for used tree shelters.

The model has since been replicated across England, Scotland and Wales, forming a national network that, according to programme figures, diverted around 85 tonnes of plastic from landfill or long-term environmental degradation last year.

Around 16 million plastic tree shelters are estimated to be used across Britain each year, according to figures used by YDMT and partner organisations.

Some guards were thought to degrade but have since been shown to fragment rather than fully break down, leaving a legacy of plastic pollution in soils, hedgerows and waterways.

The figures come as forestry experts call for clearer recovery standards before the scale of tree planting makes the problem unmanageable.

Mike Appleton, senior woodland Grants officer at YDMT, said: “Tree planting is increasing rapidly, but the systems for dealing with associated waste haven’t kept pace.

“If we don’t fix that now, the clean-up challenge only gets bigger.”

YDMT plays a central role in the Forest Plastics Working Group (FPWG), with Mr Appleton, also co-chairing the group. The FPWG brings together more than 30 organisations across the forestry, conservation and policy sectors in a bid to reduce plastic use in tree planting and improve recovery and recycling.

With government targets requiring at least 30,000 hectares of new woodland to be planted each year, the scale of the problem is set to grow unless current practice changes.

Responsibility for the removal of tree guards can be unclear, particularly where land ownership has changed or maintenance agreements have ended years earlier.

The material collected through the network is recycled by Tubex into pellets used in new products.

Support from YDMT has enabled partner organisations to host their own collection hubs, with the National Trust recycling nearly 50,000 plastic tree shelters in 2025.

Steven Smith, tree and woodland adviser for the north of England at the National Trust, said: “The National Trust recycled nearly 50,000 plastic tree shelters in 2025, from our own woodlands and neighbouring landowners.

“FPWG guidance has shaped how we reduce our reliance on plastic shelters, and support from YDMT made hosting the recycling hubs possible.”

The Forestry Commission has also supported the expansion of the hub network.

The commission has puclibally recognised the wider challenge, noting that plastic tree guards have provided cheap, effective and durable protection for young trees, but that recommended removal after around seven to 10 years has often not happened over recent decades.

A citizen science app, Plot That Plastic, developed by the FPWG, is also aiming to map the true scale of the tree guard issue.

Since launching in 2024, the app has recorded 1.9 million tubes,with only around 19,000 marked as removed.

Katie Goldsbrough, co-chair of the FPWG, says: “Plastic tree shelters are an issue across the sector because they take so much time, organisation and funding to collect, dispose of or recycle properly.

“This is by no means an easy task, and sadly it is one the sector has not yet got on top of. As a result, the legacy of plastic guards left out in the environment has become worse.”

YDMT and FPWG have both now called for minimum recovery standards for publicly funded planting schemes, including clearer procurement requirements that include end-of-life plans, and greater investment in collection and recycling infrastructure.

They argue that without clearer delivery mechanisms, responsibility for removing shelters will remain “inconsistent and often unfunded”.