December 2023

An Exeter based specialist plastics recycling and reprocessing plant has supplied 43 maintenance free sustainable benches to four of the National Trust’s Lake District camping sites. Made from 100% recycled waste plastic collected from UK businesses, DCW Polymers’ skilled joiners handmade the bespoke picnic benches.

Searching for a sustainable solution to outdoor furniture, the National Trust first approached DCW Polymers in late 2022 after hearing of the firm’s popular outdoor products range that gives plastic waste a new lease of life. The National Trust Holidays team in the Lake District chose the picnic bench from the catalogue of DCW products as suitable outdoor furniture for its campsites.

With a strong circular economy ethos, DCW Polymers’ recycled plastic furniture range aligns with the National Trust’s existing activities to reduce plastic waste. These include, offering visitors free drinking water which reduces waste from disposable water bottles, and promoting the use of reusable cups by giving visitors 25p off a hot drink when they bring their own cup.

Steph Hill, Head of Operational Delivery – Holidays Outdoors at the National Trust commented: “We’re pleased to have found a sustainable alternative to timber picnic benches at our Lake District campsites. Benches at our sites are popular with visitors who seek to enjoy our beautiful outdoor spaces, so it’s necessary for the Trust to source long-lasting benches that don’t require regular maintenance or replacement, such as traditional timber options.

“Choosing sustainable products is part of our core strategy to help fight against climate change, reduce carbon footprint and waste and help protect our environment.”

DCW Polymers’ plastic furniture is maintenance-free and long-lasting. Completely weatherproof, the benches will not rot, splinter, or corrode or ever require painting or treating. Robust and hard-wearing, the furniture is well-suited to outdoor settings and is not easily vandalised.

The range, which also includes fencing, decking, dog agility and children’s play equipment, is all part of DCW Polymers’ mission towards a more circular economy. The process recycles waste plastic into new items, saving valuable resources and energy, keeping plastic waste away from landfill and protecting our fragile ecosystem. It also reduces the need for virgin plastic raw material to be made.

Simon Almond, Managing Director of DCW Polymers, commented: “We were delighted when the National Trust Holidays team approached us to handmake 43 picnic benches for its Lake District campsites. The team have worked extremely hard over the last few years to refine the manufacturing process, and many investments have been made to ensure a high-quality, attractive and durable product is produced from plastic waste.”

Simon continued: “Our plastic alternatives come with a 25-year guarantee and more importantly, keep plastic waste away from landfill.”

To find out more about DCW Polymers’ recycled outdoor products range, visit www.dcwpolymers.co.uk. 

Recycle & Raise® brought to you by DCW Polymers Ltd is back and better than ever for the 5th year! This year, it’s even more exciting as there’s the chance to win a free recycled plastic park bench worth over £400 for the organisation that collects the most tubs as a registered drop-off point!

Each tub is worth around 20p for the charities, so the more tubs we recycle, the more money the charities can receive. Please save your clean and empty plastic sweet tub and donate them to your nearest drop-off point by 15th February 2024! It’s not just sweets and chocolates tubs DCW Polymers is asking for either. Ice cream, biscuit and cracker tubs, milk bottle tops and takeaway containers can all be recycled as part of the Recycle & Raise campaign.

More drop-off locations will be available over the next few weeks but you can find your nearest drop-off location by viewing the interactive map on the website www.dcwpolymers.co.uk/recycle-raise. If your business, school or organisation would like to sign up as a drop-off point and be in with a chance of winning a Falmouth park bench, please email [email protected].

In February, we will weigh the tubs as we collect from each of our drop-off points. The drop-off point with the most tubs donated will win a free Falmouth Park Bench from the DCW Polymers sustainable furniture range!

The plastics that are donated to Recycle & Raise will be sent to the DCW Polymers’ recycling plant in Exeter, where they will be shredded into granules. The granules will then be used in manufacturing DCW Polymers’ recycled plastic furniture range, where 100% of the profits from the donated plastics will be donated to Dartmoor Zoological Society and Life Chance Trust. All plastic donations collected will be split 50/50 between the two charities.

Dartmoor Zoo is set in 33-acres of beautiful woodland just outside of Plymouth and undertakes vital conservation work to protect a variety of species. Life Chance Trust is an award-winning organisation based in Newton Abbot that provides young people who have experienced trauma with mentoring and life skills training to help them on the pathway to employment.

Since its launch in 2019, Recycle & Raise has raised over £14,000 for charity with DCW Polymers collecting over 7 tonnes of tubs!

DCW Polymers Business Support Manager, Emily Almond, said: “We are so pleased to be launching Recycle & Raise for the 5th year and are so excited to launch the competition alongside it. We have some amazing people involved who fill their homes with these tubs every year to help the charities with us, so it’s amazing to be able to give back to them by allowing them the chance to win a free bench too!

“We are so proud to have raised over £14,000 since we launched Recycle & Raise and hope that with the support from the public, we can raise even more this year. Please spread the word and save us your clean, empty tubs and tops and help us Recycle plastic and Raise money for charity.”

Empty and clean donations need to be taken to drop-off locations by Thursday 15th February 2024. If your business, school or organisation would like to become a drop-off point, please email [email protected] with your address and consent to be added to the map!