RPC bpi recycled products is piloting a recycling initiative named ‘Recycle with Riley’ with primary schools in Stroud, Gloucestershire. The challenge requires the children to collect their pre-loved polythene plastic from home, which currently is not 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 only 56 days. Their prize was a Snakes and Ladders Activity Picnic Table for the playground made from the plastic they collected. The table is a nature friendly, sustainable and a renewable product made from Plaswood – a 100% recycled plastic.
Patrick Carroll, from RPC bpi recycled products in Stroud explained, “Our aim with Recycle with Riley was not only to engage the next generation but for 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, Scotland. 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 made from Plaswood require no annual maintenance, painting or chemical treatment prior to installation or during its long-life time, 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.
Photo caption: Eco Warriors from Thrupp Primary School, Stroud after completing the Recycle with Riley Challenge were presented with an activity table made from Plaswood.