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资助，并由英格兰林业、苏格兰林地和林地信托基金等组织承担。目前，塑料树罩被用来保护树木的前五年。如果没有遮蔽物，70%的树木可能会在成熟之前死亡。在树木被移走、收集和处理之前，这个庇护所需要保护树木五年。虽然塑料遮阳篷相对便宜（1英镑/个），但这个系列的成本高达2英镑，导致整个生命周期的成本为3英镑。许多公司已经开发了可生物降解的替代品，但是为了获得可生物降解的认证，它们必须在放置在预定环境中的90天内降解。结果，防护罩退化得太快，导致早衰和树木产量下降。目前还没有“延迟生物降解性”的认证途径。该项目汇集了NexGen，他们开发了一种树木防护林，设计在生物降解进入森林环境之前的5年后开始降解。该产品已获得专利，可行性测试表明其可生物降解。可持续认证集团将与NexGen和Impact Solutions合作开发和编写新的认证方案，Impact提供技术证据包，使该方案能够通过ISO17065认证并获得国际认可。由于这个项目，NexGen和其他公司将能够在森林环境中证明他们的可生物降解要求，并允许英国纳税人在未来30年内节省10亿英镑的收集和处理成本。

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.