Recycled Plastic Decking | Mixed Plastics
(decking install guide)
Maintenance annually and replacement in about 7 years. This has been the accepted tradition till now.
Recycled Plastic Decking changes everything, from maintenance requirements, which will completely disappear, to replacement, which is unlikely to be needed in our lifetimes unless we start having earthquakes in the UK.
You see chicken wire in use here at Moses Gate Country Park near Bolton, which is meant to help prevent slipping on the green algae that builds up over time. The chicken wire was not installed initially be became essential after about a year. Unfortunately you can see that it soon becomes a trip hazard itself with regular breakages in heavy traffic areas.
Algae beds into wood grain and for this reason is difficult to eradicate as even after cleaning the remaining algae embedded in the wood soon returns. Recycled plastic is impervious to mould. It cannot penetrate the surface and is easy to completely remove with a stiff brush or jet spray even if it eventually appears on the surface. Customers tell us it takes about 3 years before it appears and this is because there is nothing substantial for it to adhere to on a Recycled Plastic Decking Profile.
Recycled plastic decking can be used wherever you might expect to see wooden decking boards.
No Maintenance Required - reduced lifetime cost
Wood is expected to loose its good looks and struggle to survive for more than a few years.
Like all our recycled plastic decking boards, 150 x 38 boards are impervious to moisture, mould and insects and will maintain their appearance for decades without any maintenance other than cleaning with soap water and brush or jet spray.
The type of recycled plastic used for manufacture of this recycled plastic decking comes from all the plastic waste thrown out by British households every week and is made to Kedel's ULTRA Specification or Robust Specification standards.
100% British Recycled Plastic
Kedel mixed plastic decking is 100% British Recycled Plastic. Plastic milk bottles, old plastic buckets, and other assorted plastic containers are first cut into flakes, and then melted down and mixed, before being forced under pressure into a steel mold.
The finished product is a solid, heavy duty, robust material widely used for decking by local authorities and other institutions for public areas which take heavy traffic all the year round.
- No maintenance required.
- No painting, varnishing or preservatives.
- No splintering or cracking.
- Never gets waterlogged and is immune to the ravages of frost and water that destroys most other materials.
Long-Life and Low Carbon Footprint
This means that investment in refurbishment using recycled plastic decking of this type has a long term value, requires little or no additional maintenance, looks good throughout it's 50+ years life, AND has a low carbon foot print which will become a building and refurbishment requirement by 2016.
Use of Recycled Plastic for Decking has the added advantage of keeping a wide variety of plastics out of landfill.
Why pay for expensive landfill when 30% of what we are putting in it is plastic that can be turned into something genuinely useful with a long list of financial and ecological advantages.
Use of recycled plastic decking in new build and construction projects or for refurbishment of existing facilities is both highly economical as well as ecologically sound.
A Cost Comparison Study conducted by WRAP (Waste Resources Action Programme), an independent body supported by all 4 UK Governments, found that wooden Decking needs maintenance in as little as 2 years with complete replacement in around 7 years.
The slightly higher initial outlay is quickly returned through long term savings in maintenance and replacement costs, plus the finished product looks good for a lifetime.
It doesn't get much better than this in the current financial climate.
Practical Examples of the Economic Benefit of Recycled Plastic Decking
An excellent example of the cost savings and no maintenance advantages of Recycled Plastic can be seen in a Your Housing Fencing Refurbishment Project in Partington, South Manchester.
Your Housing's Partington Manager, Paul Stanners says:
“I thought it was rather expensive to begin with, but since we began installing these panels we have not had to replace a single one in over 5 years. Our maintenance and replacement costs have completely disappeared.”
Your housing used the same material for their fencing as is found in our Recycled Plastic Decking and the advantages are the same.
Savings are made both from eliminating labour costs as well as that of materials for maintenance and the cost of inevitable replacement.
Recycled Plastic Deck installation need only be done once. You wouldn't expect to replace it again in your lifetime. And when/if you do, you can recycle it again.
Recycled Plastic Decking vs Wood/Plastic Composite Decking
The UK Forestry Commission had this to say in a 2007 briefing note:
"...the marketing of WPC (Wood Plastic Composite) products was over ambitious in its rot free claims, and low maintenance.
In the USA, the promotion of Wood Plastic Composite Decking as rot free, not requiring wood preservatives was challenged as scientific evidence arose of the growth of decay fungi in WPC in service, and the catastrophic failure of WPC boardwalks in the southern states of America after just a few years of service".
100% Recycled Plastic Decking and Planks do not absorb water discouraging the growth of any type of algae and fungi. It will never rot!
Kedel's Recycled Plastic Decking and Lumber Profiles will last even longer than wood plastic composite and at least 5 times longer than tantalized or treated timber decking.
Slip Resistance of Recycled Plastic Decking
Green algae accumulates on the surface of all decking after a few years, but cannot bed into the grain of Recycled Plastic as it is not porous. Kedel's Plastic Decking can be jet sprayed or even removed with a mop or stiff brush and soapy water. Algae cannot find a hold on 100% Recycled Plastic.
Slip resistance tests indicate better slip resistance than wood in both wet and dry conditions.
Ben Jones, Contracts Director, P&D Environmental had this to say:
"Our first thoughts were it's going to be really slippery and really dangerous, but once we got working with it and got on it and walked around on it we were very surprised to be fair".
Decking Strength and Flexibility
Our Decking Product Leaflet lists all the various types of decking profile we offer and includes the specification sheet with advice on maximum span between supports and unsupported span recommendations. The Decking Product Specification Sheet can be downloaded or printed.
Recycled Plastic Decking Profiles are slightly more flexible than wood depending on the thickness of the profile, each designed to suit a particular range of applications.
The 150 x 38mm decking is extremely tough and can put up with years of use with little or no wear.
Common uses include coastal and country park boardwalks, jetty construction, fishing pegs, play or recreation areas and equipment, and any application where constant exposure to water is expected.
It is perfectly suited to the harshest environments commonly found in coastal environments and can even remain immersed in water with no adverse effects.
For more info on Kedel Decking Products please call 01282 861325 or e-mail sales.Above you can see an application in the creation of an outdoor drinking area at a hotel in Newcastle which was installed a couple of years ago and is showing no signs of wear or deterioration. The seating was made from Kedel's Award Winning Plastic Wood in Black.
