Biodegradable Flagging Tape

[Scooter]

If someone wants an idea for a solid business opportunity, try sourcing large quantities of corn-based or biodegradable flagging tape (possibly from China, using Alibaba or something like that), FOB British Columbia, and then re-distribute.

Traditional summer weight flagger, when purchased in large quantities by planting companies, can sometimes be had for as little as 70-80 cents per roll, depending on the distributor. Those rolls are 600 feet long (about 200m) and 3/4 inch width.

At the moment, doing a quick search of a dozen different sources for existing biodegradable tape in North America, you're looking at a price per roll of anywhere from around $2 to $5 apiece. However, even if you were to be able to buy a lot of rolls at $2 each shipped to a local location, the fact that these rolls are only 100 feet long means that they are effectively twelve times the cost of regular flagger.

A lot of the big dozen planting companies spend anywhere between $20k to $50k per year on flagging tape. Collectively, there's a market for at least a quarter million dollars per year for flagging tape, just to a handful of planting companies. You could probably also sell additional product to the BC government (BCTS and MOFLNRO), to silviculture/forestry consulting and surveying companies, to land surveyors, and more. I'd estimate that the total annual market in BC alone would be well over half a million dollars. Figure out a way to get it at a competitive price for large quantities, keep a 20% cut, and you're making $100k/year without planting a tree.

Key considerations:
- The price HAS to be driven down to levels approaching that of traditional summer weight ribbon. That will be difficult, at first.
- Blue

Trust me, there's a future in this. Give it five years and you're going to see tremendous changes. The deal-breaker will be the price. Find a competitive price, and you'll eat up the market.

[Scooter]

From today's edition of the WFCA's "Rumour Mill Roundup" newsletter:

Boustrophedon-Style Planting May See the End of Seedling Tagging with Plastic Flagging

Did we just use the word boustrophedon? It means to move (write, plough etc.) left to right, then right to left in alternating lines. That’s how planters often work to fill in an area with seedlings. To keep track they tag their trees with bright plastic flagging. The practice has been around for decades and just how many tons of plastic tree planting has left on the landscape is not a figure we would want to publish if we knew it. Resistant to bio-degrading quickly, plastic bits persist on the landscape for years. Besides littering, it’s shown up in the guts of calves and other ungulate browsers and grazers. Cattlemen and wildlife biologists have been joined by a citizen’s group in recent appeals to our government to reduce the use of plastic flagging in forestry. Alternative fabrics that could replace plastics come at a higher cost. Finding just how high is one of the tasks of a contractor working group focusing on the topic. As published previously in the RoundUpDate the WFCA has begun to look for bio-degradable materials for flagging and seedling packaging. WFCA has only had preliminary talks with MFLNRORD and BCTS, but given the widespread trend to discourage single-use plastics, we seem to be on track for a significant reduction in their use, if not their elimination, for planting projects. The WFCA plastics reduction working group is developing a strategy to be presented at next year’s WFCA 2019 annual conference. As part of that process we are soliciting advice and comments from licensee foresters, consultant foresters, planting contractors and seedling producers to help reduce single-use plastics in forestry.

[newforest]

I have used the wood-fiber type flagging for a long time, and it works fine. I don't flag as I plant though, so I don't go through very much of it and don't really notice the extra expense as I only need to flag things occasionally. It runs about 1.5¢ / foot in the low volumes I purchase, down to 1¢ / foot in large volume. Comes on 250 foot / 76m rolls, but the rolls are considerably larger in diameter and thus a little bit more cumbersome than traditional flagging.

But if bulk quantity 2 mil plastic is, say 7 feet for 1¢, that is quite a difference.

Any client that sees it - is always glad to see it. I have never seen anyone else use it anywhere.

[Scooter]

An article from April:

http://www.canadiangrocer.com/blog/the- ... bags-79999

Best for the industry to start looking into this now. It would suck if, three or four years from now, a major client suddenly said "sorry, you're not allowed using plastic on our blocks anymore," and we had no alternatives. At least if the industry is looking into it, and someone suggested this, we could argue, "Hey, we're looking into it and here's what we've accomplished so far. Please give us three more years and we'll have a cost-effective alternative."

[Scooter]

Also, it's a PITA to keep typing out "biodegradable flagger," so from now on, I'm just going to refer to it as BDF.

[jdtesluk]

That'll throw a wrench in it for dedicated fans of Belligerently Drunk Friday.

[Scooter]

They can move to Saturdays. In fact, I think they already did, and I was serving them all tonight. One gentleman that we cut off (a school teacher), went outside and called 911 to complain that we cut him off and that the bar should be shut down for it.

[Scooter]

In the news:

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/28/business ... index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/26/investin ... index.html

The last line from the second article, while not as directly targeted at plastics, is still a good one to remember: "We need to start having conversations about alternatives. We need to create an ecosystem where investors, innovators and big companies come together to find solutions ... and fast."

[redxiv7]

Had quite a few blocks last summer where plastic flagger was not permitted by Tolko. We were using* paper blue flagger, possibly the same wood-based flagger mention above? A bit wider with much smaller rolls but I did grow to like it quite a bit more. I found it more visible as well.

Too many cows down south eating plastic flag.

[Scooter]

Here's a link to the Tree Chalk website:

https://www.treechalk.com/

I'll be testing it on the coast this spring to see how well it works. The main concern that I can envision is that on the coast, we often can't see the trees themselves (due to slash or vegetation) and instead look for ribbon above the tree. So in that respect, tree chalk may be more suitable for easier ground in the Interior.

[Scooter]

Unfortunately, the reviews about the tree chalk are not overwhelmingly compelling at this point. Here's a link to some user feedback from planters in the field:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/5890968 ... 971557261/

[jdtesluk]

There were some interesting ideas presented there. Considering this was the first kick at the can (pun intended), are there any mods that could realistically be incorporated into a second run?

[Treeppy]

I was among the lucky ones who tried the tree chalk this year. My camp had the pink variety and it wasn't more successful than elsewhere. Most common complains were: washes away too easily when wet (or even simply rubbing inside the bags) making it very impractical on rainy days or if you have to come back another day to finish a piece, contrast is not great unless you spend 10 minutes and a full spray can per bag-up, not practical when dealing with heavy slash blocks or lots of full-grown vegetation (summer trees), generates a lot of hazardous waste (though I admit that this point is probably best dealt with by planting companies than by animal stomachs).

That being said, I still think this is a good idea to try to reduce the amount of flagging tape left on the block, and one of the other best thing about tree chalk is to make planters look for and see trees rather than flags. One major modification suggested was to have the tree chalk come in form of paint pails instead of spray can, that way it would be possible to dip the bundle tops in the paint and likely achieve better/brighter coverage. The pails could also be refillable which would greatly reduce the amount of waste. Another way would be to have the nursery apply it beforehand, but that would require to work with a more water resistant kind of chalk/paint as it would need to stay on through the thawing process.
Also I liked the idea of using bright colors, bright pink could be a hit if they manage to find a better way to cover the tree tops.

[newforest]

Has anyone experimented with paint?

pluses: could be applied in advance at nursery; cheap; permanent

minuses: painted needles wouldn't photosynthesize

But I don't think paint would interfere with bud break. How much would the painted needles inhibit total seedling growth? Would likely depend on the technique & skill of attempting to apply just a minimum necessary amount of paint onto the needles. And results of all that would likely vary by species.

[Scooter]

That still doesn't address the issue that in areas where flagging is most critical (ie. areas where you often can't see the seedlings directly due to competing slash and vegetation), the trees can have little sets of sparkling christmas lights hung on them, and it still wouldn't matter. If you can't see the tree, you can't see the tree.

So really, there are two problems here:
1. What's the best solution (chalk, paints) when it's possible to see seedlings, and the goal is simply to have them stand out more from the background vegetation?
2. Are there any solutions when seedlings aren't in direct line-of-sight?

[Scooter]

Chalk, pre-applied in bulk:
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10157802009902623

[jdtesluk]

I really think we need to expand our minds here about other options for biodegradable marking.
If not spray paint, maybe glitter? String? Something embedded in the handle of the shovel? Some type of portable hip-mounted dispenser, or a spray like soccer refs use for marking off 10 yards. I'm really not an engineering type of mind but I can't help but feel that there are more creative options to explore.

[Sunwatersoil]

Party Streamers. 1.08 a roll to the consumer. Made from wood pulp. Your choice of a rainbow of colours. And the block looks like an 8 year olds birthday party instead of a used car lot.

[Scooter]

This was in today's WFCA Newsletter:

Doubts Raised About Bioplastic Flagging

Polylactic acid-based cornstarch flagging may not be as biodegradable as hoped: you may have to cook the molecules for the bonds to breakdown.

The Ministry of Forests is recommending planting contractors hold off on major purchases of cornstarch flagging tape for marking seedlings this year. The bioplastic product appeared on the market last year as a possible replacement for the tons of cheap single-use plastic flagging used by planting crews to keep track of their trees. But recent observations from the field and rough science experiments at home show the flagging remains robustly intact in outside temperatures, sunlight, moisture, and even mild acids. Its resilience is consistent with the general behaviour of polylactic acid the main molecule constituting bioplastics derived from plant sources. According to that research, it may take up to 140 degrees Celsius to breakdown; something only found in commercial composting operations. That the fabric doesn’t biodegrade readily outdoors suggests it may pose a problem in the stomachs of cattle where plastic flagging has appeared in autopsies. More work is needed to ascertain whether this biodegradable tape biodegrades more readily than plastic and if it is digestible in bovine and other grazers’ digestion tracts.

[Scooter]

This thread should have been broader than simply the elimination of plastic flagger. It should have been titled to address the elimination of single-use plastics.

As I suspected a few years ago, change is being forced on the industry from above.

We plant unwrapped trees on the east coast. I suppose western Canada will learn to do this just as well.

From BCTS today:

Reducing Single Use Plastic Wrap in Reforestation Projects

We are pleased to announce that BC Timber Sales (BCTS) is taking a significant
step towards safety and sustainability by significantly reducing the use of single-
use plastics to wrap seedlings. We are proud to take this step that will positively
impact our environment and the well-being of those who work in the seedling
industry and appreciate your support in this endeavor.

Wrapping seedlings has long been a standard practice, however this method is the
leading cause of musculoskeletal injuries in nurseries. Additionally, the use of
plastic wrap for BC seedling packaging alone contributes approximately 12.1
million meters (18,000 kg) of non-recyclable waste to landfills annually.

By eliminating plastic wrap, we aim to mitigate the risk of injuries associated with
wrapping seedlings and prioritize the well-being all who work in the seedling
industry. Moreover, this change aligns with sustainability goals outlined in the
Climate Change Action Strategy. Recognizing the urgency to address concerns
regarding single use plastics, we have taken inspiration from successful practices
in other jurisdictions. During a recent trip to Timmins, Ontario, our Seedling
Services Staff observed the operational-scale use of no-wrap seedlings in planting
operations. This firsthand experience, coupled with discussions with industry and
nursery representatives, reaffirmed the viability and benefits of this approach.
This change in process will begin in the fall of 2023 with our pine, spruce and cedar
seedlings and will expand from there in future years. Please note that the health of
the tree is our number one priority, and we will not take any measures that
compromise the health of the seedlings.

We understand that this transition represents a change in process, and we are
committed to supporting you throughout this shift. We encourage you to share
this information with your teams and other relevant stakeholders, ensuring that
everyone is aware of the revised packaging procedure. Should you have any
questions or require further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact your
local area representative.

Together, we can make a difference. By embracing sustainable practices and
prioritizing the safety of our workforce, we are contributing to a greener and
healthier future in forestry. We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to
your continued support as we implement this important change.

Thank you for your attention and ongoing partnership.

Sincerely,

Len Stratton, RPF
Director, Sustainability and Forestry
BC Timber Sales - Provincial Operations