Whether you’re looking to extend your outdoor space at a holiday home or caravan, or whether you want to upgrade your garden at home, decking is a great way to do it. It doesn’t matter if you’re just sitting out enjoying the sun, or if you’re having a barbecue in the summertime – decking is the place.
But traditional decking can be surprisingly harsh on the environment. Between the fact that timber needs to be cut down to create the decking which contributes to deforestation, and the fact that once the decking is at the end of its life, it can’t really be recycled, there really needs to be an alternative we can look to.
That alternative is UPVC decking. UPVC decking is made from Unplasticised Polyvinyl Chloride which not only give it strength and durability, but more importantly for the planet, recyclability, and a lower environmental impact throughout its lifecycle.
Unlike traditional wood decking, UPVC decking can be recycled and repurposed at the end of its life. With the importance of sustainable materials and recycling our existing materials to reduce their environmental impact becoming more prevalent than ever before, choosing UPVC decking is making a conscious choice to reduce your carbon footprint, and help preserve natural habitats by not contributing to deforestation.
Surprisingly, for a material that is essentially industrial plastic, UPVC has a much lower impact on the environment than you would expect throughout its lifecycle. During the manufacturing process UPVC decking consumes less resources and produces less direct greenhouse gas emissions to produce it than traditional wood decking. Couple that with the fact that UPVC decking is so durable, and its environmental impact is even lower. Because of the durability that UPVC has it is resistant to the effects of rain, UV rays and temperature fluctuations that have a significant impact on wood as a building material. This resilience as a material contributes to a longer lifespan and reduces the need for repairs or replacement decking. This leads to less waste which itself not only saves money in the long run but means there is less waste ending up in landfills.
Choosing UPVC for your decking material is a deliberate choice to working towards sustainable living. It’s not to say that plastics aren’t without their own issues, but not all plastics are created equally. With the low environmental impact during manufacture, durability that reduces waste, recyclability, and reduction in the need for cutting down wood, UPVC is a great step forward in eco-friendly outdoor design.
