If you have seen our recycled plastic furniture in person or online, you know it is colorful, you know it is sturdy, you might also have noticed the wood grain texture, which by the way not all manufacturers have, and if you had the chance to sit in a chair you know how comfortable and solid it really is. But what you probably never even wondered about ( okay a few folks did wonder and asked me) is just how many milk jugs does it take to make one Adirondack chair? Well of course there are many variables, what style of chair, what size, and of course what day it was it made on. Just kidding the day it was made on doesn’t matter, of course if it was sunny outside… I’ll stop sorry. It is estimated to take 240 typical 1 gallon plastic milk jugs to make one Adirondack type chair.
Now also keep in mind that recycled plastic furniture is not made using milk jugs alone. Nope, fascinating factoid number 2, the plastic that is used is #2 HDPE. This is a specific type of plastic and is used for a pretty wide range of items:
- Cereal box liners
Some different #2 platics
- non carbonated beverages ( juices mostly)
- Margarine -”butter” tubs (refers to an old commercial if you don’t’ remember just skip ahead, if you do remember you probably can’t skip anymore)
- Deli food packaging
- Bread trays
- Household cleaners
- Detergents.
There are more, check this EHow site for even more info.
In 2007 , according to the EPA, 29.3% of HDPE was recycled in the U.S. Wow! that is a lot bread trays and butter tubs, a person will likely need some detergent to wash the deli stains out of their shirt and of course laundry work could make a person thirsty so they might just pop open a non carbonated drink to cool their pipes. Which reminds me, plastic piping is also often made with HDPE because of its chemical resistance properties.
One more little marvelous morsel of meaningful musings. From the days of dumping garbage pretty much anywhere or even burning it in a backyard incinerator (guilty!) when recycling meant to ride your bike again and landfills were amazing “dumps” of anything and everything, up until 1990 when the percentage of MSW (municipal solid waste) that was being recycled hit 15% of the total, we are now as of 2008 recycling at a rate of 33.2% of the total MSW. Sure, still lots of room for improvement but it would be hard to deny we are heading in the right direction.
Jerry And Max Bodega Bay CA
So, while I sit here warm and cozy and my recycled plastic chairs sit outside, safe in any weather, I can certainly take comfort in knowing there is plenty of HDPE available to make lots of Adirondack chairs and tables, and ottomans too, and all you wonderful folks who are reading this now know that not only will you get a fantastic chair(s) and tables that will last this just side of forever, you will be partaking in this huge and positive recycling program.
I think you some cookies and milk, and remember to drop the milk jug into your local recycling bin, it just may come back to you as part of an Adirondack chair.
