A small Yorkshire Dales trust has become a national leader in tackling the growing problem of plastic waste left behind in Britain’s woodlands.
The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) has developed one of the UK’s most coordinated responses to woodland plastic pollution by collecting and recycling used plastic tree shelters.
This approach helped divert around 85 tonnes of plastic from landfill or environmental degradation last year alone.
Mike Appleton, senior woodland and grants officer at YDMT and co-chair of the Forest Plastics Working Group (FPWG), 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."
The trust launched a collection hub for used tree shelters in 2020 in partnership with Tubex, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of plastic guards.
That model has since been replicated to form a national network of collection points across England, Scotland, and Wales.
Mike Appleton now co-chairs the FPWG, a coalition of more than 30 organisations from across forestry, conservation, and policy sectors.
The group aims to reduce plastic use in forestry and ensure proper recovery and recycling of used materials.
Plastic tree shelters have become a common sight in young woodlands, with an estimated 16 million used each year across Britain.
Originally thought to degrade over time, the shelters instead fragment into smaller pieces that persist in soil, waterways, and hedgerows.
With government targets calling for at least 30,000 hectares of new woodland annually, the risk of a growing plastic pollution legacy is significant unless removal and recycling improve.
The recycled material from the scheme is reprocessed by Tubex into pellets for use in new products.
YDMT’s support has helped partner organisations run their own collection hubs.
The National Trust recycled 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 supported the expansion of the hub network and acknowledged the ongoing challenge.
It has noted that plastic tree guards have offered an affordable and durable solution for protecting young trees.
However, removal and disposal—usually recommended after seven to 10 years—has frequently not taken place, leaving large volumes of plastic in the landscape.
Much of this pollution remains unseen by the public.
The shelters are often hidden by undergrowth, buried in soil, or scattered in remote and difficult-to-access areas.
Responsibility for their removal is sometimes unclear, especially when land ownership changes or maintenance agreements expire.
The UK Forestry Standard does state that redundant tree shelters should be taken away once they are no longer needed.
The true extent of the problem is only now being mapped, thanks to a citizen science tool developed by the FPWG.
The Plot That Plastic app was launched in 2024 and has already recorded 1.9 million plastic tubes in the environment.
Of those, only around 19,000 have been flagged as removed.
Katie Goldsbrough, co-chair of the FPWG, said: "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 is backing the FPWG’s calls for minimum recovery standards in publicly funded planting schemes.
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It is also calling for clearer procurement requirements that include end-of-life plans and more investment in collection and recycling infrastructure.
The group believes recovery must be part of the planning and funding from the outset so shelters are not just installed but properly dealt with once obsolete.
Without better delivery mechanisms, responsibility for removal will remain inconsistent and often unfunded.
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