Recycled Plastic Planks: The Future of Wood Flooring

For centuries, wood flooring has been the most popular choice for homeowners. It’s durable and beautiful, but it also comes with a hefty price tag. Over time, this expense can really add up. Fortunately, there is now an alternative that offers all of the benefits of traditional hardwood without the high cost-recycled plastic planks! This innovative new material provides a more environmentally friendly option while still offering many advantages over its competition.

Recycled plastic planks were created to give the benefits of wood flooring–a natural, warm look and environmentally friendly factor–without all the hassle. These plank boards are made from 95% recycled plastic materials that have been ground up into a fine powdery consistency before being molded into planks. The color is then added as needed in order for it to closely resemble hardwood floors with a wide range of options available including red oak, dark walnut, light maple, black ash and many others!

After taking waste plastic and processing it carefully, recycled plastic lumber can be created. This is also called recycled wood plastics. It is aesthetically pleasing and uses 66 percent less energy than virgin plastic production. Such products can be recycled after they are finished being used.

This approach keeps plastic out of landfills, and reduces the carbon footprint and global warming impact through such reuse. 

Using recycled plastics in construction projects reduces waste and facilitates sustainable development. 

By building green sustainable homes using recycled plastic materials, for example, a tremendous difference can be made. Plastic waste decomposes slowly and damages the environment over a long period of time. 

Recycled plastic wood products are durable, beautiful and will maintain their appearance for many years to come. 

Recycled Plastic Wood can be used for DIY projects or for major construction projects. It is manufactured into planks, sheets, or boards. Unlike wood, they do not rot or grow mould, so they do not require re-painting. There is no maintenance involved with these materials.

It is often surprising to learn that these products aren’t made from wood at all, but recycled plastic that resembles real wood. They are often superior to traditional wood products in both design and quality.

Plastic lumber is a more sustainable, durable and affordable alternative to treated wood products like traditional plywood and OSB.
Plastic lumber is an engineered composite made up of recycled plastics and other products that are use to create a product that is a polymer. The raw components of plastic lumber are processed by using high-pressure extrusion where the materials are heated in these devices at temperatures above 360 degrees Fahrenheit and then squeezed out of shaped dies as they travel down a long metal tube. The machine can make different shapes with the pellets such as sheets, boards or panels which will depend on what shape die it pushed through with one size typically being approximately 1/8 inch thick while other shapes can be 3/4 inches thick depending on what type you need.

Good Reasons To Use Recycled Plastics Products

By using recycled plastic instead of virgin plastic, we can significantly reduce our carbon footprint. Recycling plastics is 250% more carbon-efficient than making virgin plastic. It’s an easy decision, regardless of what one thinks about climate change.

Save Money On Costs

With recycled plastic planking you’ll save money on energy bills as well as wear and tear costs associated with maintaining your floors year after year. Recycling old plastics to create these boards not only helps reduce landfill waste; it also reduces the need for new, environmentally harmful materials to be created.

Handles Heavy Foot Traffic

Recycled plastic planking is resistant to scratches and dents-making this material a wise choice when it comes to kids or pets running around your house! It can handle all of the traffic that traditional hardwood requires without fear of damage from those unexpected spills. Not only are these boards less expensive than their oak flooring counterparts; they’re much easier on your wallet in many other ways as well. You’ll save money not just by going with recycled wood over natural wood but you will enjoy an even lower ongoing cost because you won’t have to replace them for years thanks to their durable construction and nonporous finish that resists stains, dirt, oil residue, and water.

Installation Process

The only downside to this flooring is in the installation process. You’ll have to take into account that it’s an extremely light material which makes for a slow go on installing these boards, but not impossible!

Won’t Swell With Moisture

Unlike natural wood, recycled plastic planking will never swell with moisture so you won’t need to worry about swelling–a common issue when hardwood gets wet and expands out of its joints. This means less time spent fixing your floors over time; just wipe them down once per week or so as needed! If you’re looking for environmentally-friendly options that are easy on your wallet then we recommend checking out Recycled Plastic Planks.

Can Be Installed On Existing Subfloor

Planks can be installed over your current subfloor without any need for underlayment or glue; just use screws through the pre-drilled holes on each side -or you may want to purchase an adhesive if you’re installing them onto existing finished surfaces such as a concrete slab. In addition, the Recycled Plastic Planks are available in both unfinished and finished options so you can have them look like any wood flooring that your heart desires!

Quieter Than Wood Flooring

Recycled plastic planking is also quieter than traditional wood floors because it doesn’t resonate as much when walked on; this decrease in noise pollution makes for a more pleasant living environment. We hope these few benefits will help persuade you to consider recycled plastic planking over natural hardwood or laminate if you’re looking for an environmentally friendly option!

Plank Installation:

For those who would rather install their own recycled plank flooring (or want to do-it-yourself), installation is fairly simple–especially with our easy to follow guide!

The first step is to lay down the baseboard. Next, we need to install what’s called a “starter strip”. This will make it much easier for you when installing your planks because it provides an even and straight starting point for each plank.

Next come the planks themselves:

*Place one end of the plank on top of the starter strip at about 16 inches from where you want your flooring to start.

*Using a rubber mallet, tap gently along both sides of plank until tight against wall or other edge. Tap off any excess pieces that are sticking out using this same method before moving onto next piece.

*Continue with pattern across room–install new starter strip as needed–until finished line reaches opposite wall.

*And finally, we need to install the quarter round trim which is a smaller piece of wood that runs along the edge of your plank and attaches to the wall. We need to install it so that the edge is flush with the plank, and extends about an inch out from each side of your plank.

*Once you’ve installed the trim, then we can move onto painting or staining your new flooring!

Baleboard Plastic Lumber

Baleboard is plastic lumber made from white plastic silage bags by an Ontario company.

 Sparks and Lackenbauer, co-founders of Think Plastic Inc., developed a technique that lets them recycle plastic waste. Although baleboard is more expensive than cedar wood and pressure treated lumber, it does not require painting or treatment, is easily cleaned, and it will last for a very long time.

The product from Think Plastics is unique in that it is made entirely of polyethylene, unlike other composites on the market that contain wood fiber or polystyrene and polypropylene.

The baleboard is ideally suited for farm fencing, barn flooring, stalls for horses, greenhouse framing, docks, tables, and benches, says Sparks.

There is no rot, no splintering, no chemical leaking, or any need for maintenance with baleboard. Even sterilizing it is possible. With ceramic insulators, electric fencing doesn’t require ceramic nails, glue, staples or screws (unlike with composites). According to the company, baleboard lasts forever and is recyclable over and over again.

More than 140 tons of waste materials were collected from more than 20 landfills during the summer of 2005 by Think Plastics. With a 16,000-sq.-ft. facility, the company employs over 200 people. In the heart of a region that produces livestock in Ontario, they have a 10,000 sq. ft. facility. To date, they have only recycled white plastic.