FOUNTAIN VALLEY : City to Buy Recycled Plastic Park Benches

Picnickers and visitors to local parks this summer will be using benches and picnic tables made from recycled soda bottles and milk jugs.

The city plans to buy 12 picnic tables and 27 benches, all made of a product called “plastic lumber.”

Officials hope the city’s use of the recycled product will make park-goers more aware of the need to recycle to save natural resources.

“We’re hoping we reach three generations of park-goers so that they can close the loop and buy recycled products themselves,” said Susan Lynn, environmental programs manager.

Each bench is made from some 900 recycled plastic soda and milk jugs, while some 8,000 go into one picnic table. The recycled park furniture has a life span of about 50 years.

The cost of the benches and picnic tables, which are designed to accommodate people in wheelchairs, is about $14,000. The City Council on Tuesday appropriated $7,000 in park bond money for the project. It will match a grant received under the Beverage Container Recycling Act.

Mayor John J. Collins said use of the grant money combines environmental awareness with fiscal responsibility, adding that the plastic furniture helps to “educate people that this is a viable use for products that we traditionally have been sending to the landfill.”

The recycled benches and tables will be placed at 12 neighborhood parks and at the Fountain Valley Recreation and Cultural Center.