Tubex, a Magnera brand, is encouraging more organisations in Scotland to join its Tree Shelter Collection & Recycling Programme as collection hub partners, helping make it easier for used shelters to be recovered and recycled at end of life.
The initiative, which is described as the UK’s first free tree shelter collection and recycling scheme, combines a growing network of collection hubs with a paid doorstep collection service for larger volumes.
The call for more hubs north of the border follows strong growth in 2025, when the number of shelters returned rose by 39% compared with 2024. By the end of the year, 1,982 dumpy sacks had been returned, up from 1,421 in 2024, leaving the scheme close to the milestone of two million shelters collected and recycled since it began in 2021.
Used polypropylene and polyethylene shelters, along with mesh tubes from all manufacturers, can be dropped off free of charge at participating hubs by prior booking. They are then sorted, washed and reprocessed into raw material, achieving a yield of 95.6% in 2025.
“Our Collection & Recycling Programme is designed to make the responsible recovery of shelters at end-of-life as practical and accessible as possible,” said Pete Stevens, business development manager at Tubex. “We have seen really encouraging growth in returns across the UK and we now want to see that access strengthened further in Scotland through more collection points and more local partners coming on board.
“The uptake we saw in 2025 shows what can be achieved when manufacturers, distributors, forestry organisations and land managers work together. We urge interested parties in Scottland to get in touch.”
Current partners in the UK-wide hub network include Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, Forest Working Plastics Group, Tilhill, Maydencroft, British Hardwood Tree Nursery, Ashlea Landscaping, Green-tech and Chaffin Works.
