Contact the Tubex Sales office on 01685 888 000 or email plantcare@tubex.com for your collection bags today!

Chipper - likely to become blunt quickly

Disposal of shelters at landfill

Plastic Recycling

USEFUL LINK

Waste Regulations within the UK (Environment Agency Website) 

 

 

Tubex Shelter collection and recycling scheme

As described within our Degradation section, our shelters will degrade over time and do not have to be removed.  However, Tubex understands that the removal and subsequent disposal of our shelters will be a requirement for some customers.

After researching the possible ways to recycle our products, we believe that we have found a great solution for those customers wishing to recycle their unwanted shelters.  No weighing, no dropping off, fixed costs and no surprise charges – just a simple, hassle free recycling solution.

As an example, based upon the costs detailed below, the collection & recycling of 6,400 Treeshelter Standard 0.6m costs between £0.08p per unit and £0.11p per unit depending upon the collection location.

In addition there are collection options that would allow a customer to wait and consolidate with other local collections, thereby sharing collection costs or on request Tubex can provide details of local drop off centres.

The Scheme

1. Charges

Charges for this service will be calculated on two aspects

  • Number of shelters to be collected – costs can be calculated using chart below.
  • Distance from Econoplas Processor – costs can be calculated using map below

For quantities over 10,000 or if you wish to confirm your calculations then contact Tubex’ Sales Office on 01685 888 000 or email plantcare@tubex.com

2. Transportation

There are two ways shelters can be prepared for transportation

  • Nest shelters together (nest of 5 as a minimum) and securely tie in bundles of 10 nests together
  • Fill dumpy bags* – if unable to supply your own then 90cm3 dumpy bags are available at £3 each plus postage

*number of bags required will depend on quantity of shelters to be recycled. Each one tonne dumpy bag can hold approx. 400 un-degraded Tubex 0.6 Standards. This number will increase if there is greater degradation.

Cost per shelter

0.6m shelter

  • >1000   £80 per 1000
  • 1001 to 3000   £70 per 1000
  • 3001 to 6000   £60 per 1000
  • 6001 to 10000   £50 per 1000

1.2m shelter

  • >1000   £160 per 1000
  • 1001 to 3000   £140 per 1000
  • 3001 to 6000   £120 per 1000
  • 6001 to 10000   £100 per 1000

Distance from Econoplas

This is a flat fee for up to approximately 6,400 0.6m Treeshelter Standards based on distance from the Econoplas Processor. For greater quantities ring Tubex for a specific transport cost – Please note that there are collection options that would allow a customer to wait and consolidate with other local collections, thereby sharing collection costs.

Click here to download map

Recycled Tubex shelters will be reprocessed by Econoplas who manufacture Aquadyne, a unique and efficient drainage product. This versatile product is used for cycle tracks, children’s play areas, green roof construction, water recycling processes, football stadiums and many other places including the Dykes in Holland.

Alternative options

Tubex highly recommends the use of the collection and recycling scheme. Tubex does NOT recommend burning or burying of shelters as this is banned in many areas under European Law. Alternative options may be;

  • Re-use. This is difficult after the shelter has been split, or has become partially degraded. Re-use can be an option for smaller plants if the shelter is used as a wrap.  Tubex can provide an Ancorfix band to act as a wrap closing support.
  • Shredding or granulating. This can then be used as mulch. We recommend careful selection of the chipping, shredding or granulating machines;

Chipper, commonly “bladed”, and is likely to become blunt very quickly. Overheating can cause some melting of the shelter on to the blades.  This will invariably result in subsequent breakdown of the machine – Do NOT use this type of chipper. 

Shredders do not reduce the shelter to such small pieces because they use a “flail” mechanism.  However, this does not suffer from the problems experienced with bladed chippers, and prove much more effective.

Granulators are designed for this purpose but they are slow and often less mobile.

  • Landfill – the least environmentally friendly alternative; Tubex shelters are designed to photodegrade and therefore should not be buried.