Recycled Plastic Lumber Saves Rainforests

Complete 3-component modular planters systems crafted to endure with hidden inner aluminum frame, rugged inner liner with advanced drainage to hide drip irrigation.

Specifying recycled plastic lumber saves rainforests by eliminating demand for tropical hardwood and creating a sustainable market for plastic waste. That makes recycled plastic lumber (RPL) a win for the environment, our customers, and society.

Recycled plastic lumber saves rainforests at no loss to our customers in almost every application, so why wouldn’t you want to specify it instead of tropical hardwood?

RPL reduces maintenance costs while enhancing your property with timeless beauty, making a positive environmental statement for your brand by eliminating needless destruction of tropical rainforests, which is a leading component of climate change.

Recycled plastic lumber saves rainforests like the one this combination recycling and trash bin made with RPL is located in.
Recycled plastic lumber saves rainforests like the one in which this Oahu Modern Combination Trash and Recycling Bin made with RPL is located. Tap the picture to link to more information and products crafted with recycled plastic lumber.

In 2009, DeepStream started offering recycled plastic lumber (RPL) as an alternative to tropical hardwoods. More and more of our customers have been choosing RPL for planters and weatherproof fixtures over the past several years. By 2017, RPL was specified more often than natural wood.

chart showing the use of recycled plastic lumber replacing natural wood
The use of recycled plastic lumber has overtaken tropical hardwood

In 2023 RPL has increased to over 88% of Sales

Recycled plastic lumber is a win for the environment and for our customers.

Weatherproof RPL reduces maintenance costs while enhancing your properties and brands, exhibiting timeless beauty and making an environmental statement.

We encourage you to seriously consider the cost benefits and the long-term appearance of RPL versus tropical hardwood. By selecting this material for your project, you are making a positive environmental statement to your customers.

The Perfect Outdoor Bench with Back in recycled rich Tropical Hardwood plastic lumber and marine anodized aluminum make it great choice at this yacht club.
The materials, simple modern elegance, and ergonomic comfort of The Perfect Outdoor Bench with Back make it great choice to use as a gallery, museum, yacht club, or park bench. Combining the warmth environmentally friendly Tropical Hardwood colored recycled plastic lumber, with the strength of marine anodized aluminum and 316-stainless steel, this modern wooden bench, handmade by American craftsmen, is perfect for both indoor and outdoor use as it is maintenance free and will last for decades.

In 2019 alone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the center of the second largest rainforest after the Amazon, leased a massive 650,000 hectares (1.6 million acres) of pristine rainforest to aggressive Chinese logging companies. They also leased many more huge tracts of old growth forest to companies from other countries that log and then plant palm oil forests, forever depriving gorillas, elephants, and other animals of the diverse rainforest ecosystem they rely on.

A picture above a link to an article on 2019, the year that the  rainforests first started burning because of climate change induced drought.
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/2019-the-year-rainforests-burned/

Eliminate needless rainforest destruction by specifying DeepStream RPL planters and fixtures. The RPL that DeepStream uses is backed by a 50-year limited warranty by its manufacturer.

Tap the picture to link to more information about this Custom weatherproof Point of Sale Cabinet and Modern Combination Trash and Recycling Receptacle
Tap picture to find out more about this Custom weatherproof Point of Sale Cabinet and Modern Combination Trash and Recycling Receptacle at an outdoor café. Instead of traditional tropical hardwood they use recycled plastic lumber to save the rainforest

DeepStream was created in a response to a need. While building a condominium project, I reviewed the “universe” of garden planters and receptacles. I wanted planters, receptacles, and custom fixtures for my project that were just not available.

A modern Audubon Combination Trash and Recycling Bin, crafted with 3form Eco-resin panels, is an alternative to wood that helps stop the destruction of the tropical rainforest. The Audubon bin here is shown in a lounge of the Orlando International Airport. Click the picture to see more modern recycling and trash bins on DeepStream's website.
A modern Audubon Combination Trash and Recycling Bin, crafted with 3form Eco-resin panels, is an alternative to wood that helps stop the destruction of the tropical rainforest. Click the picture to see more modern recycling and trash bins on DeepStream’s website.

Wood planters were carpenter-built with wood-on-wood construction. As I’ve detailed in my Planter Blog, they just don’t last. Carpenter-built wood planters tear themselves apart in 3-4 years in Miami’s hot tropical climate.

I did find other materials suitable for the indoor recycling and trash receptacles I was designing, such as the 3form Eco-resin panels shown on the receptacles in the picture above at the Orlando International Airport, where the airport authority is committed to sustainability and DeepStream. These panels, however, were not a suitable replacement for wood in exterior, especially wet, locations.

Wasting valuable wood harvested from the world’s rapidly diminishing rainforests, let alone with carpenter-built construction methods, not only destroys the forests, it also wastes your time, money, and energy.

Unfortunately, recycled plastic lumber was not an option when DeepStream was founded. Now using RPL is not just good ecological stewardship, it’s common sense.

Dozens of Modern Square and Rectangular Commercial Wood Planters, in tan and dark grey colored labor saving no-maintenance recycled HDPE plastic lumber, create a green lushly landscaped common area patio on the roof deck of an urban workforce housing apartment complex.
Commercial planters like these DeepStream Mariner Planters made with recycled HDPE plastic lumber, not tropical hardwoods, are a chic way to go green and conserve the Earth’s precious resources while supporting a commercial market for recycled plastic.

If your project absolutely must use tropical hardwood, then specify DeepStream’s Mariner planter system. Do not use carpenter-built wood planters that will fall apart in 3-5 years.

Wood expands when it gets wet. DeepStream’s trademark marine-anodized aluminum extrusion, along with its hidden aircraft aluminum structural frame, contains wood’s expansionary forces. Honor the wood you use by ensuring it lasts for decades, and back it with a Lifetime Structural Warranty.

DeepStream Design's trademark marine anodized aluminum leg extrusions
DeepStream Design’s trademark marine-anodized aluminum leg extrusions and engineered 3-part planter system extends the life of tropical hardwood by decades. Tap the picture to see more Mariner planters and options.

Engineered with the principles of Sustainable Design, our products stand the test of time. Our engineered modular system uses, or reuses, hardwood in a design that honors the wood. Deepstream’s trademark aluminum extrusions allow construction that extends wood life by decades. This is true with all of DeepStream’s products.

Movable Commercial Planters made with RPL no only save the rainforest but they also require no maintenance and with DeepStream's rugged frame they can roll on caster wheels to be easily relocated. Tap the picture for a link to more information.
Movable Commercial Planters made with RPL not only save the rainforest, but they also require no maintenance. With DeepStream’s rugged frame, they can roll on caster wheels to be easily relocated. Tap the picture for a link to more information.

Harvesting tropical hardwood destroys important habitats around the world, even if “sustainably harvested,” as hardwood trees take 50 years or more to reach maturity.

According to the Yale School of Forestry, while estimates vary, it is thought that between 30 and 50% of all certified Tropical Hardwood shipped into the United States has been “Greenwashed,” meaning that shipments have been provided with falsified and counterfeit documentation.

In some countries like Peru, it’s estimated that 90% are illegally logged, devastating their Amazon watershed. For more information click here: “Greenwashed” Timber and FSC certification.

The DeepStream’s modern Audubon combination trash and recycling receptacle, seen here outside a hotel built in the Craftsman style, is made using tropical hardwood which will last for decades. However the same effect can be recreated with the new generations of recycled plastic lumber to save the rainforests from needless destruction. Tap the picture to find out more on DeepStream’s website.
DeepStream’s modern Audubon combination trash and recycling receptacle using tropical hardwood will last for decades. However the same effect can be recreated with the new generations of recycled plastic lumber to save the rainforests from needless destruction. Tap the picture to find out more information on DeepStream’s website.

Offset your project’s carbon footprint by using recycled plastic lumber and planting far more trees than you use.

We plant trees for you automatically through Trees for the Future as a matter of principle. Planting trees through Trees for the Future provides families with more than just trees and food. It provides income, empowerment, unity, leadership, education, and even saves lives. The program teaches people to value themselves and their environment, and they see amazing improvements in their standard of living.

DeepStream Custom Fixtures: Benches in a hotel gym made with recycled plastic lumber, aluminum and 316-stainless steel to last virtually forever. Not only is RPL waterproof so it doesn't absorb sweat it can be easily sanitized. Tap the picture to link to more bench ideas.
DeepStream Custom Fixtures: Benches in a hotel gym made with recycled plastic lumber, aluminum and 316-stainless steel to last virtually forever. RPL is waterproof so it doesn’t absorb sweat, and it can be easily sanitized. Click the picture for the DeepStream Modern Bench Page.

DeepStream plants 50 trees for every planter and 100 trees for every fixture you purchase. Our customers receive a certificate to use in your marketing to let your customers know that you care about the environment.

Large recycled plastic commercial rectangular garden planters limit access, helping to create a beach club at an ocean side clubhouse, without using traditional tropical hard wood. This is a good example of how easy it is for communities to do thier part to save the rainforest while saving members dollars as well.
Large recycled plastic commercial rectangular garden planters limit access, helping to create a beach club at an oceanside clubhouse, without using traditional tropical hardwood. This is a good example of how easy it is for communities to do their part to save the rainforest, while saving members’ dollars, as well. Tap the picture to see more examples of commercial RPL planters.

To date, with proceeds from the sale of our products, DeepStream has planted more than 500,000 trees in our customers’ honor. This reflects our customers’ commitment to the environment that we are all leaving for future generations.

A white RPL Commercial Planter anchors a Security Screen Wall and Enclosure at LAX airport creating a unique outdoor dining spot for the Bob Hope USO. Tap the picture to find out more about the unique ways you can use of RPL in creating screen walls and enclosures instead of tropical hardwood to save the rainforests.
A white RPL Commercial Planter anchors a Security Screen Wall and Enclosure at LAX airport, creating a unique outdoor dining spot for the Bob Hope USO. Tap the picture to find out more about the unique ways you can use RPL to create screen walls and enclosures instead of tropical hardwood to save the rainforests.

DeepStream makes it easy and cost-effective to go Green and stop contributing to climate change. By selecting recycled plastic lumber for your order, you will be preserving the world’s rainforests, the cooling lungs of the earth, while creating a sustainable market for post-consumer and post-industrial plastic waste.

Products made with non-structural Recycled Plastic Lumber planks inside DeepStream’s unique structural aluminum frame are a perfect choice for outdoor placement, while making a strong environmental statement.

Please discuss saving this diminishing resources for future generations with clients that specify tropical hardwoods.

Our recycled plastic lumber requires no maintenance and lasts for decades without fading, saving your clients money, while looking better over time than wood ever will.

Large recycled plastic lumber wood planters for trees at Long House Reserve Garden. Tap picture for more information on Large Planters for Trees using RPL to save the rainforests.
Large recycled plastic lumber wood planters for trees at Long House Reserve Garden. Tap picture for more information on Large Planters for Trees using RPL to save the rainforests.

DeepStream creates many custom fixtures that use recycled plastic lumber.

Custom Fixtures, not custom prices, for hotels, restaurants, theme parks, water parks and spas.  DeepStream’s proprietary frame system allows us to create a coordinated collection of durable custom fixtures. This approach provides visual continuity throughout your property, indoors or out.

A suite of weatherproof custom outdoor fixtures for condos hotel, and water parks constructed with recycled plastic lumber, RPL, instead of traditional tropical hardwood saving the businesses maintenance costs while saving the rainforest at the same time. Tap the picture to link to more information.
A suite of weatherproof custom outdoor fixtures for condos, hotels, and water parks constructed with recycled plastic lumber (RPL) instead of traditional tropical hardwood, reducing maintenance costs while saving the rainforest. Tap the picture to link to more information.

Custom fixtures shown above include a point-of-sale enclosure with marine-anodized aluminum tambour door and frame. It features an insulated 316 stainless steel top, hinges, drawer slides, and handle.

The modern combination trash and recycling receptacles are also constructed with recycled plastic panels. Easily wiped clean, RPL does not stain and can be pressure cleaned – perfect for food service outlets. Because DeepStream’s trademark aluminum extrusions are marine-anodized, there is no paint or powder coating to fail. Turning on silent Delrin bushings, the bin push flaps are constructed of unfinished 5086 marine aluminum, making them easily cleaned and refinished.

Waterparks use a lot of towels. One of the RPL cabinets in the center holds fresh towels. The other cabinet houses a roll-in towel return cart.

Recycled Plastic Lumber, when paired with DeepStream's trademark anodized aluminum frame system, can even make large items possible with this non-structural plastic like this enclosure for large pool towel return carts. With anodized aluminum there is no paint or powder coating to fail so they can be cleaned with a pressure cleaner. Tap picture to link to more information.
Recycled Plastic Lumber, when paired with DeepStream’s trademark anodized aluminum frame system, can make even large items possible with the non-structural plastic, like this enclosure for large pool towel return carts. With anodized aluminum, there is no paint or powder coating to fail, so they can be pressure cleaned. Tap picture to link to more information.

If you have any questions, or there is anything DeepStream’s dedicated American craftspeople can design and build for you using Recycled Plastic Lumber, please contact us to discuss your project.

Trees for the Future Logo
Trees for the Future their Forest Garden program has many positive benefits for the earth and its people, in addition to planting trees.  For more information follow this link: Trees.org

There is never a fee for design or quotes. Sheila Boyce has designed thousands of installations, so she is a great free and friendly resource at your disposal. Call her at: 305-857-0466 or email dsdmiami@gmail.com.

Sustainable Design creating Recycling and Trash Receptacles

DeepStream Designs’ uses the principals of sustainable Design to create custom modern recycling and trash receptacles.

DeepStream’s mission is to provide alternative products with a timeless design that are engineered and constructed so that they will endure for generations, reducing the impact on the earth’s resources, and providing the lowest cost of ownership over time.

We are philosophically opposed to building cheap products that will be thrown away in a couple of years, or will end up costing our customers more over time.

Modern Designer Double Recycling Bin 3Form panels
Modern Designer Double Recycling Bin 3Form panels
Modern Hotel Double Recycling Bin
Modern Hotel Double Recycling Bin

Sustainable design principles run deep at DeepStream Designs’ and help to create Recycling and Trash Bins that met these criteria while helping business strengthen their brands image and customer relationship experience by placing artful recycling and trash bin into more prominate locations .

DeepStreamDesign recycled plastic lumber modern triple stream recycling bin
DeepStreamDesign recycled plastic lumber modern triple stream recycling bin

Longevity: Classic modern design, engineered for the lowest lifecycle cost of any recycling or trash bin, never goes out of style.  DeepStreams’ attractive bins are not an expense, they are an investment in y0ur brand image underwritten by a reduction in your maintenance budget and long term capital depreciation costs.  Replaceable parts make them last virtually forever and make updating the look as easy as sliding in new decorative panels.

Ipe Wood Double Hotel Recycling Bin
Ipe Wood Double Hotel Recycling Bin

Modular Frame Design:  DeepStream’s proprietary marine-anodized Audubon frame system allows recycling and trash bins to be constructed without welds that break, and makes replacing parts in the field by untrained maintenance workers quick work with a screwdriver and an Allen key should they inadvertently become damaged.

Modern wood triple recycling bin
Modern wood triple recycling bin

Modular design, custom stainless steel lids and engraved labels means that recycling bins can be made for single to quad-stream use and meet any recycling regulations in your area.

DeepStreamDesign recycler badges
DeepStreamDesign recycler badges

Whether recycling or trash bin, top loading or side access, all bins are made with a sanitary grid, in place of the normal floor pan, to support leak-proof commercial grade recycled plastic inner liners, so there is nothing to leak or catch waste, thus preventing pest infestations.

large wood exterior wood trash bin
large wood exterior wood trash bin
large wood exterior wood trash bin
large wood exterior wood trash bin
large wood exterior trash bin
large wood exterior trash bin

Side panels can be created of virtually any material which is less than ½” thick, even fabric or photographs.  Thicker material can be used if the edge can be routed, even stone.  This allows recycling to be integrated seamlessly into more areas of your property, camouflaging bins or even bringing greater attention to them.  Directional signage and employee changeable messages or graphics are easily accommodated.  Each panel can be made from different materials, allowing for low-cost panels to be used for backs and sides that will not be viewed when the bin is in place.

DeepStreamDesigns Copper-composite panel
DeepStreamDesigns Copper-composite panel
Ginko 3Form Panel
Ginko 3Form Panel
large modern hotel triple stream recycling bin
large modern hotel triple stream recycling bin

Materials:  The materials used in our designs (marine-anodized aluminum, stainless steel and HDPE) allow for use in salty, wet marine environments, and all are easily recyclable.  Commercial-grade interior bins are replaceable and are themselves made with recycled plastic.

Stainless Steel hinges, mounting feet, and marine aluminum push flap
Stainless Steel hinges, mounting feet, and marine aluminum push flap

While almost any material can be used for the decorative side panels, DeepStream works with clients to choose materials appropriate for the environmental conditions in which the bins will be placed.  There are many materials to choose from, including recycled resin panels made by 3Form and other companies that use natural and recycled materials as design components.

large modern exterior combination trash and recycling bin
large modern exterior combination trash and recycling bin
exterior combination trash and recycling bin
exterior combination trash and recycling bin
DeepStreamDesign's modern combination trash and recycling bin
DeepStreamDesign’s modern combination trash and recycling bin
DeepStreamDesign's modern combination trash and recycling bin 3Form Tigerthatch panel
DeepStreamDesign’s modern combination trash and recycling bin 3Form Tigerthatch panel
DeepStreamDesigns 3Form recycled blue glass modern trash bin
DeepStreamDesigns 3Form recycled blue glass modern trash bin

Our heavy-duty construction even allows the use of wood panels in bins placed outside as the frame components contain and direct the incredible differential forces wood creates when it expands and contracts in the rain and sun, delivering decades of attractive service.  Wood that is bolted or screwed together will tear itself apart in time as each piece expands and contacts at different rates, because they come from different trees and parts of trees.

DeepStream wood combination Recycling and Trash bin
DeepStream wood combination Recycling and Trash bin

Lids and hinges are constructed from 16-gauge stainless steel to provide for decades of service.  Lids are supplied with a random orbital finish that hides scratches and can be refinished in the field in just minutes, providing for decades of flawless service.

DeepStreamDesign's modern combination trash and recycling bin with open lid
DeepStreamDesign’s modern combination trash and recycling bin with open lid

Customization:  Easily replaceable panels prevent design obsolescence by ensuring that your bins can be updated in the future.  Modular design means that recycling and trash bins use replaceable panels that are perfect for your project, property, or brand. Inexpensive panels can be used on sides that will not be seen when put in place to minimize materials costs.

trash and recycle bin leg and panel detail
trash and recycle bin leg and panel detail
modern combination trash and recycling bin 3Form Ginko panel
modern combination trash and recycling bin 3Form Ginko panel
modern exterior wood combination trash and recycling bin
modern exterior wood combination trash and recycling bin

Construction:  DeepStream products are manufactured by American craftsmen, using yacht-building techniques and materials without welding. This allows damaged pieces to be replaced at the manufacturer’s direct cost via our unique “Core Replacement Program.” Proprietary dielectric paste prevents the stainless steel fasteners from seizing in the aluminum legs for decades of replacement access. Proprietary copper treatment of any closed holes in the wood further enhances the tropical hardwood’s natural qualities to prevent wood rot for decades.

modern wood dual stream recycling bin
modern wood dual stream recycling bin

Isolation:  Our HDPE plastic feet prevent contact between the legs and the ground or standing water, preventing galvanic deterioration of the finish. Marine-anodized 6063 aircraft aluminum, 5086 marine aluminum, and 18-8 stainless steel fasteners will perform for decades while assembly using proprietary anti-galvanic dielectric paste ensures that components can be replaced easily for years to come while protecting the metal finish.

DeepStream modern Trash Bin with Ash receptacle
DeepStream modern Trash Bin with Ash receptacle

Value:  DeepStream sells direct with pricing based on volume and has very low overhead. This allows us to use the best materials and pay a living wage to American craftsmen, while ensuring that our customer is getting the lowest lifecycle cost for their project and the planet.

modern dual stream hotel recycling bin with 3Form "green tea"panel
modern dual stream hotel recycling bin with 3Form “green tea”panel

Green:  DeepStream is committed to doing its part to save the planet by using recycled or easily recyclable materials. Our engineering and materials selections ensure that the products will last as long as possible, breaking the “throw-away” cycle, and protecting the earth’s resources. For each recycler we build, we plant 100 trees. For every garden planter we build, even if it is from plastic lumber made from recycled milk bottles, we plant 50 trees in our customer’s name through Trees for the Future (tree.org).

modern exterior wood combination trash and recycling bin
modern exterior wood combination trash and recycling bin
5 Premium Wood Grain Embossed and 2 colors of smooth Recycled Plastic Lumber
Recycled Plastic Lumber 5 color samples of premium wood grain Recycled Plastic Lumber, so real you have to touch it to tell its not wood plus black and white smooth, planks. 50 year warranty, low maintenance and pressure cleanable for sanitation and to remove graffiti.
5 Standard Wood Grained Recycled Plastic Lumber Color Samples
5 Standard Wood Grained Recycled Plastic Lumber Color Samples
Trees for the Future Logo
Trees for the Future their Forest Garden program has many positive benefits for the earth and its people, in addition to planting trees.  For more information follow this link: Trees.org

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