Sustainable Playground Design: Creating Commercial Playground Equipment that Lasts

Lately I’ve found that long-lasting commercial playground equipment is more important than ever in this down economy. Not only is it environmentally friendly, but sustainable playground design ensures that you get the most out of your investment. It is clearly worthwhile to invest in sustainability. Some of the benefits of sustainable playground design include:

• lower commercial playground equipment maintenance

• lower costs

• lower environmental impact

Approaches to sustainable playground design are not necessarily simple though. In fact, recycling can be counterproductive for commercial playground equipment because it is so expensive. Due to low reusability, recycling in playgrounds often amounts to a trash control solution with a high environmental cost. Recycled plastic parts, such as polyethylene plastic, are both difficult to repair and virtually unusable for anything but their intended purpose. My long-term prediction is that recycled parts for commercial playground equipment will begin to be manufactured with an eye to their second life. This will ensure that recycling costs are kept low. Other strategies for sustainable commercial playground equipment design include: the use of renewable resources, profiting from local resources, and the use of organic materials for greater durability.

I also think it’s important to develop specific techniques for sustainable and affordable commercial playground equipment design. For example, instead of dismantling an entire swing set, sustainable playground design would entail a sturdy, long-lasting frame. Rather than replacing the whole swing set, only suspension cords and seat should need sporadic replacement. ElephantPlay commercial playground swing sets were created with this kind of design in mind. They feature durable cable connections to minimize wear over time. With simple assemblies and easy repair, city workers can easily recondition commercial playground equipment themselves with very little new material.

For further information about sustainable and low-maintenance commercial playground equipment design, feel free to check out ElephantPlay’s high-quality materials and low-maintenance playground designs.