That's an excellent and very important question. We believe true sustainability extends far beyond the initial purchase, right through to a product's end-of-life. So, what happens when one of our park benches reaches the end of its service life? We have a dedicated, closed-loop process designed to keep materials in use and out of landfills.
First, when a bench is decommissioned by a community or client, we encourage them to contact us directly. Many of our benches, especially those made from recycled plastic lumber, are perfect candidates for recycling. We can often arrange for the bench to be collected or provide instructions for its shipment back to our processing partners.
Upon arrival at the recycling facility, the bench is carefully inspected. Any metal components, like bolts or structural brackets, are removed and sent to metal recycling streams. The core material—typically our high-density recycled plastic lumber—is then cleaned and fed into an industrial shredder. This machine grinds the old bench into small, uniform flakes.
These plastic flakes become a valuable raw material. They are melted, re-compounded, and extruded to form brand new recycled plastic profiles. This new lumber can then be used to manufacture a future generation of park benches, picnic tables, or other community furnishings. In essence, your old bench becomes the foundation for a new one.
For benches made from other materials like sustainably sourced wood, we facilitate proper chipping for landscaping mulch or biomass energy recovery, ensuring nothing is simply thrown away.
Our goal is a circular lifecycle. By choosing our products, you're not just buying a bench; you're investing in a system that reclaims, renews, and reuses resources, significantly reducing environmental impact and contributing to a greener community for years to come.