Delayed Biodegradability

英国政府承诺到2050年种植15亿棵树，以实现雄心勃勃的净零目标。这种种植的大部分将由英国纳税人出资，并由英格兰林业、苏格兰森林和森林信托基金等组织承担。目前，塑料换树器被用来保护这棵树在它生命的前五年。如果没有遮蔽物，70%的树木可能会在成熟之前死亡。该庇护所要求将这棵树保护五年，然后才能将其移走、收集和处置。虽然塑料植树器相对便宜(GB 1/单位)，但收集成本可能高达GB 2，导致生命周期成本为GB 3\。许多公司开发了可生物降解的替代品，然而，为了获得可生物降解认证，它们必须在被放置在预期环境中后90天内降解。其结果是，避难所退化得太快，导致采伐前失败，树木产量下降。目前还没有“延迟生物降解性”的认证途径，该项目汇集了NexGen，他们开发了一种砍树机，旨在5年后开始降解，然后生物降解到森林环境中。该产品是专利产品，可行性测试表明它是可生物降解的。可持续认证集团将与NexGen和Impact Solutions合作开发和编写一项新的认证计划，Impact将提供技术证据包，使该计划获得ISO17065认证并获得国际认可。作为该项目的结果，NexGen和其他公司将能够在林业环境中证明他们的可生物降解主张，并使英国纳税人在未来30年节省10亿GB的收集和处置成本。

The UK government has committed to planting 1.5billion trees by 2050 in order to meet ambitious Net Zero targets. The majority of this planting will be funded by the UK taxpayer and undertaken by organisations such as Forestry England, Woodlands Scotland and the Woodland Trust.Currently plastic treeshelters are used to protect the tree for the first five years of its life. Without the shelter 70% of trees are likely to die before they can mature. The shelter requires to protect the tree for five years, before it is removed, collected and disposed of. While plastic treeshelters are relatively cheap (£1/unit), the collection can cost as much as £2, leading to a lifecycle cost of £3\.Many companies have developed biodegradable alternatives, however in order to gain biodegradable certification they must degrade within 90 days of being placed in their intented environment. As a result, the shelters degrade far too quickly, leading to premauture failure and lower tree yields. There is not currently a route to certification for "delayed biodegradability"This project brings together NexGen, who have developed a treeshelter which is designed to start degrading after 5 years before biodegrading into the forestry environment. The product is patent and feasibility testing shows it is biodegradable. The Sustainable Certifications Group will work with NexGen and Impact Solutions to develop and write a new certifications scheme, with Impact providing the technical evidence pack to allow the scheme to be ISO17065 accredited and gain international recognition.As a result of this project NexGen, and others, will be able to prove their biodegradable claims in a forestry environment, and allowing the UK taxpayer to save \>£1billion in collection and disposal costs over the next 30 years.