The Rise of Recycled Plastics in Landscape Architecture
Plastic materials make up a large portion of the waste in our local landfills and rivers. In fact, with the number of single-use products on the market, over 10 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year. Because of this, recycling these items is more important now than it’s ever been. Fortunately, innovation is paving the way for sustainability, and even the architectural industry is doing its part for the planet. Read on to learn about the rise of recycled plastics in landscape architecture and the importance of this movement.
What Is Plastic Lumber?
In recent years, companies like Tangent have devoted themselves to creating new construction materials that look nice and help prevent the harmful effects plastic has on the environment. By melting down recycled plastics and combining them with strengthening agents, they’ve created a strong HDPE polymer that rivals the durability of traditional resources like wood and steel.
Why Use Plastic Lumber?
Plastic lumber allows us to construct new furniture items, benches, and even entire parks without needing to cut down trees or manufacture other materials. This not only reduces the amount of plastic littering the environment, but it also cuts down on the amount of pollution released into the atmosphere. So, the rise of recycled plastics in landscape architecture has a domino effect that carries into all other areas of our societal infrastructure.
Additionally, plastic lumber has none of the disadvantages attributed to other building materials. While wood or steel eventually rust or rot with extended exposure to the elements, plastic decomposes at a much slower rate. This ensures that structures last much longer and don’t require as much upkeep in order to stay functional.
Applications and General Advantages
As alluded to before, plastic lumber has a diverse range of applications as well. Since it can take several different shapes and hold a variety of colors, it can create furniture, fencing, and trail markers that all mimic the exact look of steel or wood. Wood grain HDPE sheets provide a traditional rustic style without the typical maintenance costs of standard wooden planks. So, if you want to build something that’s just as beneficial for you as it is for the environment, plastic lumber and sheeting is definitely a material to consider.
We at Tangent Materials work hard to bring our customers the highest quality HDPE materials on the globe. Made from recycled materials, we’re proud of our efforts to remove plastic from our landfills and to make sustainable use out of our most-wasted resource. For more information about our products and how they’re impacting the world, give us a call or visit our website.