Forestry body ties up deal with Cheviot Trees to plant thousands of 'green' shelters

National agency Forestry and Land Scotland is planting biodegradable tree shelters as part of its green push.

The move comes after the organisation’s procurement team held talks with shelter supplier Cheviot Trees on finding ways of becoming more sustainable. There was a focus on finding environmentally friendly alternatives to single-use, plastic tree shelters.

FLS said it was following up on one of its climate change plan commitments to cut its plastic waste.

The new product is manufactured from biodegradable polymers derived from biomass.

Forestry and Land Scotland is planting new biodegradable tree shelters.

Gareth Waters, FLS’ interim head of operational support, said: “Our climate change plan commits us to becoming more sustainable across the board and phasing out single-use plastics is high on our to-do list.

“This new biodegradable product is not only good for the environment and for wildlife but will also free up time for our local foresters who will no longer need to gather up used tree shelters.

“We’re now encouraging all of our teams across the country to make the environmentally friendly, sustainable choice.

“It’s one of the first, big steps on our journey and we’re looking forward to adopting other innovative solutions as we head towards net zero.”

Tree shelters are used to protect young seedlings and trees from browsing damage from deer and other animals. Every year, FLS uses some 200,000 of them.

Jonathan Cameron, Cheviot Trees’ sales and marketing manager, said: “We have been working closely with our manufacturing partners over the past few years to help develop a clever and innovative biodegradable solution that provides reliable protection to young trees.”

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