Recycled Plastic Patio Furniture Outlasts the Real Thing
Recycled, repurposed, reused, etc. are words that all carry new meaning in today’s environmental-wise society. Re-usable shopping bags are trendy, practical and widely used. Furniture, accessories and clothing made from sustainable or recycled material earns one points on the environmental scoreboard as well as kudos from peers.
Not only is this trend good for the environment, but often these products have shown to be of superior quality and practicality than what they had been manufactured from before.
Take for example Poly-Wood Adirondack Chairs. We all know Adirondack chairs as the classic wide-armed slanted-seat wooden chair popularized throughout resorts and homes across the country. Traditionally, the Adirondack chair was made from various types of wood to accentuate its rustic appeal.
A Poly-Wood Adirondack chair, however, is made from recycled plastic milk jugs. Doesn’t sound very rustic, does it? And yet the manufacturers of Poly-Wood products have found a way to make their milk-jug material look just like a classic Adirondack chair. There is one major difference with a Poly-Wood Adirondack chair though. In many ways, it is vastly superior to the classic chair made from wood.
Besides being made of a material that otherwise would have contributed to a landfill, Poly-Wood products are practically impermeable to the elements. When it comes to outdoor furniture, this is a huge advantage. Think about all the maintenance that is needed for outdoor wooden furniture. It is susceptible to insects, damage from water, humidity and other precipitation, wind, heat, etc.
Wooden furniture also needs maintenance such as sanding, re-painting, oiling, etc. Poly-Wood furniture is essentially made from plastic lumber – the “lumber” that is made from recycled plastic milk jugs. This material isn’t affected by sun, rain, chlorine, insects, etc. so needs very little maintenance. In fact, all you really have to do is clean it with soap and water if it gets dirty.
This product is a perfect example of the benefits of innovation using recycled materials. Poly-Wood Adirondack chairs and furniture solves several problems: The problem of high maintenance outdoor furniture, the problem of non-degradable plastics in landfills, and the problem of harvesting natural materials for outdoor furniture.
Recycled products shouldn’t be trendy for the sake of being trendy. They should be popular because of their quality, the purpose they serve and the problems they solve. Poly-Wood and other products are just the tip of the iceberg of future environmental innovators.