Did you ever wonder what becomes of the items you put in your recycling bin at home? Obviously, the glass bottles and aluminum cans can be remade into similar products, but what about plastic milk jugs and plastic grocery bags?
One option for keeping plastics out of landfills is turning them into high-quality building products like ChoiceDek® composite decking and railing, which contain 95% total recycled content. So, the milk jug that sat in your refrigerator for less than a week could eventually become part of a durable and attractive deck you can relax on for decades to come.
While recycling is becoming more commonplace throughout the U.S., Americans still discard a humongous amount of plastic containers and packaging each year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that nearly 12 million tons of such plastics go to landfills each year – that’s equal to the weight of 264 battleships or a convoy of semi-trucks stretching from San Francisco to Chicago, and back!
As we celebrate Earth Day around the world this April 22, remember that putting plastics in the recycling bin instead of the trash is only the first step. Manufacturers must then turn those materials into useful products. Finally, to close the loop on recycling, “the third and possibly most important step … is when you, the consumer, purchase products made from recycled materials,” notes Earth911.com.
When you’re deciding what material to use for your new deck, choosing composite decking like ChoiceDek helps keep plastics out of landfills, and doesn’t require more trees to be cut down.
