Four Eco- Friendly Features of the PVC Deck
Most people consider wooden decks as eco-friendly because the building material comes from trees, which after all, are a natural product of Mother Nature. Trees have always been a symbol of the green movement because they absorb carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) out of the atmosphere. However, many would be surprised to learn that another deck building material, PVC, also has a number of eco-friendly properties. And with PVC, they do not have to cut down those carbon dioxide absorbing trees for you to have a deck. Yes, it’s artificial and it’s a plastic. However, there is no arguing that its use prevents further environmental degradation.
It Is Highly Durable
So, what does durability have to do with eco friendliness? The longer something lasts, the less demand there is for its manufacture, which in turn means less stress on the environment. A great thing about PVC is it does not rot or corrode and will outlast wood by decades which means wood deck owners will have to replace their decks at least once during the lifetime of a PVC deck, which makes wood decks even worse for the environment.
Low Carbon Footprint
PVC has a lower carbon footprint than many common materials such as metal and glass. That is, throughout its lifetime, less carbon dioxide gets released into the environment from PVC than glass and metals such as aluminum.
Requires Less Energy to Make
PVC requires 20 percent less energy to produce than other plastics. There is no comparison to the enormous energy requirements of making aluminum (another deck and rail building material). Aluminum requires almost ten times more energy to make than steel.
Recyclable
Finally, PVC is 100 percent recyclable. That means there is no need to fill up landfills with discarded PVC. Recycling PVC also places less demand on the raw materials used in its manufacture: oil and salt. Recycled PVC can be turned into window frames, wire insulation, medical equipment and toys, just to name a few.
One other eco-friendly benefit of the PVC deck is that you can restore and clean it with DeckMAX, the best deck-cleaning product on the market that happens to be safe for the environment. For more information, don’t hesitate to contact us.
