Recycled Plastic Lumber

Case Study - Using recycled plastic sleepers for steps at Pontefract Castle

2011-06-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

Wakefield Metropolitan District Council in partnership with English Heritage recently began a major refurbishment of Pontefract Castle with the replacement of a flight of steps taking visitors up to the Castle Keep.

The existing stairs were seriously eroded, rendering them unsafe. The job of replacing the steps is a big one, so the architects needed to ensure they would not need replacing again. Architects Lloyd Evans Pritchard contacted us looking for ideas on the best solution in recycled materials. The technical team recommended using recycled plastic railway sleepers with aluminium anti-slip profiles, and designed steps according to the architects plan.

The recycled plastic sleepers were chosen due to their durability and lifespan, as the material does not rot or erode over time.

The recycled plastic material offered key advantages in ensuring the steps were safe for use. Recycled plastic has a rougher surface texture than wood, providing improved grip. Unlike wood it is also resistant to moss or algae growth, the presence of which is not only unsightly but also hazardous, making surfaces slippery underfoot. Using recycled plastic eliminated this problem, along with the need for treatment and maintenance.

These anti-slip qualities were significantly boosted with the integration of carborundum anti-slip treads, supplied by Quantick Systems.

These additions, set in aluminium profiles and fixed into rebates that were hand routed into the sleepers in the workshop, provide durable anti-slip performance in both the wet and the dry. The anti-slip system also defines the step edges clearly. The visual contrast provided by the aluminium was key to achieving DDA specifications, without the need for garish markings.

The sleepers are made from 100% recycled plastic, made in the UK from UK plastic waste. More than six tonnes of plastic has been diverted from landfill by using recycled plastic sleepers on this project alone, and roughly 12 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions saved.

The installation is now complete and is part of a programme of works to unlock the potential of Pontefract Castle as a heritage and tourism destination, as well as safeguarding the site for use by future generations. These initial works will prepare the site for a further programme of conservation and development work throughout 2011/12.

Councillor David Dagger, Wakefield Council’s Cabinet Member for culture, sport and libraries said: “The Council has already been working closely with local groups such as the Friends of Pontefract Castle to improve the castle’s appearance and facilities. This work will mark the beginning of a new and exciting chapter for the castle, and will help us to attract more visitors to the town and wider District, boosting the local economy.”

For more information on the use of recycled plastic in an upcoming project, contact us on 07787 928 319, or via email.

Recycled Plastic Lumber for Construction and Landscaping

2010-12-13T06:08:00.000-08:00

Recycled plastic lumber is rot proof, impact resistant, algae and moss resistant and as it has a skin paint cannot stain it, therefore graffiti can simply be wiped clean.

It is a tough, durable, maintenance free alternative to timber, offering a life span many times that of wood without the need for treatment. This means whole life costs are significantly reduced as maintenance and replacement costs are removed.

Low Carbon Products offer an extensive range of recycled plastic lumber profiles, along with decking boards, tongue and groove and steel reinforced profiles designed for civil engineering. It can be used to construct fencing, boardwalks and decks, gates, steps etc, and it widely used to replace rotten wood in exisiting structures.

It is also the basic building block from which the range of recycled outdoor furniture is constructed.

For more information, or a sample of the material, please contact us on 07787 928 319, or via email.

How Recycled Plastic Lumber is Made

2009-12-18T08:25:00.000-08:00

Recycled Mixed Plastic Lumber or Plastic Wood Composite, also known as Recycled Composite Profiles (RCP’s), are the basic building block from which the Low Carbon Products range of environmentally friendly maintenance free furniture and sustainable construction products are manufactured.

Heres how it is made

Post consumer and post industrial plastic waste from a range of sources comes into the factory and is shredded

The various intrusion moulds for the recycled composite profiles. Intrusion moulding gives the profiles extra stength in comparison to rival products made by extrusion moulding.

A 100mm X 100mm profile being withdrawn from the mould.

Cutting with a slow speed circular saw

A pile of recycled lumber profiles, made from plastic that otherwise would have sat for thousands of years in landfill, leaching chemicals into the ground.

For more information on Low Carbon Products lumber, and the range of construction and landscaping products made from this durable, zero maintenance material, visit the Low Carbon Products website.

Our Problem, Our Solution

2009-06-15T03:53:00.000-07:00

Our insatiable demand for lumber continues to be a major problem for our planet.

Rainforests around the world are disappearing at a frightening pace, when the looming spectre of Climate Change should have the governments of every country falling over themselves to protect their natural resources while they still can.

Watching documentaries and reading stories about this subject, one often feels a sense of hopeless resignation. Everyone knows what is happening, and what is coming, but the world seems powerless to address it. Ordinary people struggle to change their lifestyle while any changes appear a drop in the ocean compared with the rapacious consumption of the developed world, and ever increasingly the developing nations.

However, alternatives are there, today, which if utilised on a global scale would allow us to pass a planet worth living on to our childrens children.

For example, in a classic case of killing two birds with one stone, recycled plastic lumber exists as a viable alternative to virgin timber on the mass market. The production of these Recycled Composite Profiles diverts plastic waste from a future decomposing in a landfill site, and creates a durable, non-slip, water and insect resistant, vandal proof, crack and splinter proof alternative to wood, with significantly lower whole life costs than wood.

The market for this product is growing fast, but not as fast as it should be, bearing in mind that deforestation and climate change is already affecting us, and government claim sustainability as a top priority.

We here at Low Carbon Products are working tirelessly to develop new markets for our recycled plastic lumber, and are always innovating in our product design to make recycled products as desirable and useful as possible because as far as we can see, there is no reason every construction project should not make use of the recycled alternatives available.