From YMCA courtyards and college campuses to downtown squares and neighborhood parks, outdoor sites of all kinds need site furnishings like benches, waste receptacles, picnic tables, and more to provide a comfortable environment for visitors. And when it comes to choosing your site furnishings, sustainable materials provide a win-win situation, helping you reduce waste and your facility’s environmental impact, while also ensuring your furnishings will last.
Recycled Plastic
When it comes to sustainability, recycled plastic is one of the best choices, providing durability and sustainability. What’s more, you can get the look of wooden furnishings without the increased maintenance needed to keep wooden furnishings looking their best. Recycled plastic is resistant to damage, with graffiti being relatively easy to clean or repair, and it won’t crack, fade, rot, or splinter.
Recycled furnishings are constructed with at least 96% post-consumer/industrial materials, including milk jugs, pop bottles, and plastic bags.
Aluminum & Steel
Another great sustainable option for your site furnishings, aluminum is 100% recyclable, ensuring your furnishings won’t end up in the waste stream when they reach the end of their life cycle. Aluminum is also lightweight, making it easy to move your picnic tables, benches, receptacles and more when you want to reconfigure your site.
Steel is another hard-wearing option, and like aluminum, it can be recycled at the end of its lifespan. Because steel can be subject to oxidation, it is usually finished by galvanizing or with a thermoplastic coating, available in a variety of colors. Powder-coating has a smaller environmental impact than galvanizing, so if sustainability is important, consider powder-coated steel furnishings.
Concrete
A real heavyweight in park and other outdoor settings, concrete is a great choice in locations that deal with heavy use and even abuse like vandalism. Concrete is also recyclable, making it a sustainable choice. You can also find concrete tabletops and seats in polished terrazzo, with 100% recycled ground glass aggregate, available in a variety of colors, which will add beauty your site. Concrete is highly durable, able to stand up to all kinds of weather challenges, and it is very low maintenance.
Stay on Top of Maintenance
Even low-maintenance options like concrete and powder-coated steel furnishings will need attention from time to time, so be sure to talk to your site furnishings manufacturer about the best way to handle any routine maintenance requirements. When you stay on top of important maintenance tasks, you’ll ensure your furnishings last longer, another way to make your site more sustainable, as you won’t need to replace furnishings before the end of their expected life.
In addition to regular maintenance steps recommended by the furnishing manufacturer, you should also take conditions at your site into account, from the weather and prevailing climate to the usual number of visitors, along with any heavy-use times like holidays or special events. All of these will ultimately impact your material selection. Climate conditions like salty sea air or heavy snow loads will affect your choice, as will your ability to handle ongoing maintenance. Recycled plastic will be a good choice near the ocean, while powder-coated steel will stand up to snow. And if maintenance is a challenge, look for the most durable, low-maintenance materials like concrete, aluminum, or coated steel.
For More Information
Belson Outdoors LLC
800-323-5664
www.belson.com