Volunteers have removed more than 2,000 plastic tree protectors from along the A428 in Cambridgeshire for recycling.

More than 25 volunteers from National Highways and its partners gave up their time to take out the tree shelters which had been used to protect saplings from hungry animals but have reached the end of their lifespan.

The event, supported by tree shelter supplier Tubex as part of its Collection and Recycling Programme, took place on the A428 near Hardwick, Cambridgeshire.

Rob Barron, National Highways’ operations east supplier relationship manager, said he was pleased with how the day went.

“Our thanks goes to all the staff who gave up their time to help out – and also to Tubex, which has the perfect infrastructure in place to recycle shelters once they reach their end-of-life.

“Our environmental approach is very much about minimising impact on both residents and the local environment. That means replacing what is lost during construction and keeping the appearance of the network in-line with the local environment as much as possible.

“Whilst tree shelters are essential to protecting saplings from animal browsing, it’s also vital that we remove them at end-of-life to ensure a circularity of material use and to remove plastics from the environment.”

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The removed shelters were taken to Tubex’s dedicated recycling facility in Heanor, Derbyshire. Once processed, the recycled polypropylene (PP) will be used in the manufacture of new recyclable tree shelters.

The volunteer day was considered a success and plans are under way to hold similar events to remove more tree shelters from both the A428 and other highways across the East region.

For more information on National Highways East and the work they do, go to: www.nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/east/