play equipment Archives • The Hideout House Company

There are so many times that I have visited schools and seen picnic tables made out of recycled plastic sitting on the school playground. Not just one but typically quite a few of them. You then ask the school staff why they purchased them and the response is always the same – they simply just last a lot longer than the traditional timber ones, they will never rot or degrade and more importantly they don’t require any on-going maintenance.

And in the same vein, there are the same amount of schools I visit where I see trim trail playground equipment covered in out-of-bounds hazard tape as per below.

And when you ask why this is, again the answer is pretty standard. The play equipment is no longer safe because it is starting to rot or the rounded timber has cracked so badly that the children are getting loads of splinters or are putting their fingers into the gaps. So it falls upon the site manager to constantly maintain it or as in a lot of cases, the trim trail equipment is simply condemned because it is beyond repair or is simply uneconomic to do so.

So I got to thinking that if you consider the above, why not therefore manufacture and sell trim trail recycled plastic play equipment made out this wonderful material? It has so many benefits by doing so and these are some of them:

It requires very little or nil maintenance as recycled plastic does not rot, corrode or decay
It does not splinter or have “shakes” like traditional timber does when it naturally dries out
It is very hard to vandalise (less flammable than timber) and graffiti and is resistant to algae and insects
It is hard wearing and durable – you can expect a lifetime five times than that of timber
UV resistant and available in different colours
It is eco friendly as it manufactured 100% out of recycled plastic bottles

But of course, it is a little bit more expensive than traditional timber but if you factor in the above benefits, it actually represents very good value for money especially when you consider its extended lifespan and reduced (none) on-going maintenance costs.

Our recycled plastic trim trail play equipment range incorporates stepping stones, log weavers, balance beams, net climbers, wobbly log bridges, A frame climbers and chin up bars.

For further information, please call the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

www.hideouthouse.com

If you are looking to replace your existing school playground equipment or indeed are looking to purchase some additional items, then we would advise you to strongly consider buying it out of recycled plastic as opposed to traditional timber. I was at a school just last week who are wanting to replace some existing adventure trim trail items because they have split very badly and when the site manager tried to move them found out that they were rotten to the core below ground level. And this is equipment which was only installed less than five years ago!

Nowadays you will probably see in school playgrounds a lot of outdoor picnic tables made from recycled plastic and there are some very good reasons why. We love selling it because it is of course very eco friendly due to the fact that it is made out of 100% recycled materials – mainly plastic bottles. But aside from saving the planet, these are the other principal benefits of recycled plastic play equipment:

Maintenance free as it doesn’t ever rot, corrode or splinter like traditional timber

Crack proof and does not have “shakes” (like traditional timber)

Eco friendly as it is made out of recycled plastic bottles and is fully recyclable at the end of its use

UV resistant with little colour loss due to direct sunlight

Resistant to graffiti, insects and algae

Less flammable than traditional timber and resistant to most chemicals

Hard wearing and exceptionally durable – typically lasting five times longer than timber and does not degrade with age

With budgets tighter than ever, schools have to ensure that they are getting value for money but a quality product too which is going to last. That is why we strongly believe that in the non too distant future school playground equipment made out of recycled plastic will be the standard specification.

For further details, please visit

The Hideout House Company

www.hideouthouse.com