Guidance

Using pine trees to restore dunes or protect riverbanks: RPS 236

Updated 6 December 2023

Applies to England

This regulatory position statement (RPS) does not change your legal requirement to have an environmental permit for a waste operation when you store and use waste pine trees.  

However, the Environment Agency will not normally take enforcement action against you if you do not comply with this legal requirement provided that:

  • your activity meets the description set out in this RPS
  • you comply with the conditions set out in this RPS

In addition your activity must not cause (or be likely to cause) pollution of the environment or harm to human health, and must not:

  • cause a risk to water, air, soil, plants or animals
  • cause a nuisance through noise or odours
  • adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest

Activity this RPS applies to

This RPS applies to the storage and use of waste pine Christmas trees or felled pine trees from forestry management to:

  • protect riverbanks from erosion – they can reduce the flow of water and allow riverbanks to regenerate
  • trap wind-blown sand and build up sand dunes – this helps native grass to grow and restores the habitat

Conditions you must comply with

You must:

  • only store and use waste pine trees from households (for example, Christmas trees) or waste felled trees from forestry management
  • only store and use pine trees from households or forestry that have not been sprayed with decorations or perfume or sprays from forestry management
  • remove all plastic and other decorations from the trees
  • only store and use pine trees up to 3 metres high
  • not store or use more than 2,000 trees at any one site
  • have, and comply with, your environmental permit or consent for flood risk activities
  • store the trees in a secure place where the public cannot access them
  • make sure the pine trees are properly secured and will not enter the water, if you are using them to protect riverbanks
  • keep records for 2 years to show that you have complied with this RPS and make these records available to the Environment Agency on request

When you must check back

The Environment Agency intends to review this RPS by 30 November 2026.

You will need to check back from time to time, including at and before the review date, to see if this RPS still applies.

This RPS remains in force until it is removed from GOV.UK or is otherwise identified as having been withdrawn.

This RPS relates to an activity that the Environment Agency considers is potentially suitable to be an exemption under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

If you cannot comply with this RPS

If you operate under this RPS but can no longer comply with it, you must stop the activity to which this RPS relates and must tell the Environment Agency immediately. Use the following contact details.

Contact the Environment Agency

General enquiries

National Customer Contact Centre
PO Box 544
Rotherham
S60 1BY

Email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk

Telephone 03708 506 506

Telephone from outside the UK (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm GMT) +44 (0) 114 282 5312

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.