Request about tree guards: EIR release

Information requested

1. Forestry in Scotland appears to be tightly regulated in Scotland, such as felling approvals, proposed planting schemes, compliance to qualify for forestry grants and environmental impacts.
2. All over Scotland plastic tree/hedge guards are left on trees and hedges when the trees and hedges are sufficiently established to no longer warrant protection.
3. Such plastic tree guards become brittle after a period of time and may include small guards (for saplings) or taller guards. Some manufacturers make spurious claims regarding biodegradable properties of some guards.
4. There are numerous instances of tree guards being left to break up, fall over, stay to the (oversized) tree or be blown around and discarded on open ground or enter watercourses, across Scotland.
5. Are there regulations compelling landowners (or their agents) to remove tree guards from the trees/hedges (and assorted ties, stakes and other materials) and collect tree/hedge guards (or their fragments) from the ground and dispose of in an appropriate way? 
6. If there are such regulations in point 5 above, do these apply to all properties in Scotland or only recipients of Forestry Grant Schemes, or some other scenario or scenarios?
7. Are there fines for failure to collect tree/hedge guards that haven't been removed, or are left on the ground, or can recipients of forest grants be compelled to return some of the grant funds paid to them?
8. Does Scottish Forestry (or some other government body) have a facility for members of the public to report tree/hedge guards littering the countryside?

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Response

1. Forestry in Scotland appears to be tightly regulated in Scotland, such as felling approvals, proposed planting schemes, compliance to qualify for forestry grants and environmental impacts.
   No response required.
2. All over Scotland plastic tree/hedge guards are left on trees and hedges when the trees and hedges are sufficiently established to no longer warrant protection.
   Tree shelters are primarily used to protect young trees from grazing, particularly by deer. Where possible, deer control or deer fencing are the preferred methods of protection, therefore tree shelters tend to be used for smaller schemes and where palatable species, such as broadleaves or alternative conifers, have been planted. Of the approximately 100 million trees planted with Forestry Grant Scheme support since its introduction in 2015, 2% have been protected with tree shelters funded by the scheme.
3. Such plastic tree guards become brittle after a period of time and may include small guards (for saplings) or taller guards. Some manufacturers make spurious claims regarding biodegradable properties of some guards.
   The Scottish Government is fully supportive of efforts to reduce, remove and recycle plastics used in the woodland and forest environment, and to encourage the development and use of viable biodegradable alternatives to conventional polymer plastic tree shelters.
   
   Scottish Forestry, as part of a large collaborative working group, is currently supporting research to test alternatives with partners in the public and private sectors across UK and Ireland. Results are yet to be delivered and evaluated. The results of this research will be considered alongside broader studies looking at how these biodegradable shelters behave in natural environments. If results show these alternatives to offer greater environmental benefits than conventional tree shelters (over its life cycle), Forestry Grant Scheme support for the alternatives can then be considered.
4. There are numerous instances of tree guards being left to break up, fall over, stay to the (oversized) tree or be blown around and discarded on open ground or enter watercourses, across Scotland.
   No response required.
5. Are there regulations compelling landowners (or their agents) to remove tree guards from the trees/hedges (and assorted ties, stakes and other materials) and collect tree/hedge guards (or their fragments) from the ground and dispose of in an appropriate way?
   The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011 amended Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (duty of care). It places a specific duty of care on any person who produces, keeps or manages (controlled) waste to take all measures to apply the waste hierarchy, which is: prevention; preparing for re-use; recycling; other recovery; and disposal, in a way which delivers the best overall environmental outcome.
   
   To put this legislation into the forestry context, the Forestry Grant Scheme guidance stipulates: “Section 34 of the Environment Protection Act 1990 places a duty of care on all landowners in Scotland to store and dispose of waste appropriately, see Duty of care: Code of Practice. Once redundant, all tree shelters and vole guards must be removed and reused, recycled or disposed of appropriately”. Forestry Grant Scheme contracts state that all guidance and legislation should be adhered to, thereby also covering the duty of care in the terms of the contract.
   
   Applicants for forestry grant support for woodland creation and management are contractually obliged to adhere to guidance, in addition to their legal duties. Woodland creation and management is underpinned by the internationally recognised principles of Sustainable Forest Management, as defined in The UK Forestry Standard (UKFS). The UKFS is endorsed by all national and devolved governments in the UK. It sets out the technical standard and guidance for sustainable forest management and any grant support is conditional upon meeting the UKFS requirements.
6. If there are such regulations in point 5 above, do these apply to all properties in Scotland or only recipients of Forestry Grant Schemes, or some other scenario or scenarios?
   The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2011 amendment to Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (duty of care) specifies that this legislation applies to any person. For any legal matters in relation to this legislation, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) are the regulator.
   
   Forestry Grant Scheme recipients will have a contractual obligation to adhere to the terms of their grant scheme contract. This provides a requirement to adhere to guidance in addition to complying with existing legislation.
7. Are there fines for failure to collect tree/hedge guards that haven't been removed, or are left on the ground, or can recipients of forest grants be compelled to return some of the grant funds paid to them?
   In relation to compliance with the terms of the Forestry Grant Scheme, failure to remove tree guards would be a contractual breach, but only if the grant was received after July 2022. This is because the stipulation of removing tree shelters was introduced to grant requirements in July 2022. Nevertheless, regulatory compliance remains an obligation for everyone. Further information on how this is enforced can be sought from the regulator - Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
8. Does Scottish Forestry (or some other government body) have a facility for members of the public to report tree/hedge guards littering the countryside?
   The regulator for waste management in Scotland is the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) who can be contacted by telephone on 0800 80 70 60 or online at www.sepa.org.uk/report

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