RPC bpi recycled products is piloting a recycling initiative called ‘Recycle with Riley’ with primary schools in Stroud, Gloucestershire.
The challenge requires children to collected polythene plastic from home, which is not currently collected by local authorities, and bring it into school to be recycled by RPC bpi recycled products into second life products.
Thrupp Primary School in Stroud was the first school to embrace the challenge, collecting 100kg of plastic film in just 56 days.
Their prize was a Snakes and Ladders Activity Picnic Table for the playground made from the plastic they collected.
The table is eco-friendly, sustainable, and a renewable product made from Plaswood, a 100 per cent recycled plastic.
Patrick Carroll, from RPC bpi recycled products in Stroud, said: “Our aim with Recycle with Riley was not only to engage with the next generation but or them to be ambassadors to their parents and adults within their families, to push the importance of recycling in their local communities while reinforcing the importance plastic has in our world.”
The children’s collected plastic film is taken to RPC bpi recycled product’s factory in Dumfries, and at the site the plastic film is washed, shredded, and finally extruded into Plaswood lumber and made into a range of Plaswood outdoor furniture, fencing, boardwalks and gates.
Products from Plaswood require no annual maintenance, painting or chemical treatment prior to installation or during its long-life time, and it will not leach chemicals into the environment, rot, or splinter, making it a sustainable, renewable and cost-effective alternative to traditional wooden, steel or concrete products.