No Rot Plastic Lumber

No Rot Plastic Lumber MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 12-5-22 "You can saw and nail it just like hardwood lumber. It can't rot so you can even use it under water," says Desmond Finnegan, Irish developer of a new process for turning waste plastic into "no rot" lumber that can be handled just like wood. Finnegan says that up to now no one's been able to figure out how to combine different types of plastics, such as polyurethane and polypropylene, into a single product. His process turns any kind of waste plastic into a hard, UV-stabilized material that he says lasts virtually forever with no deterioration and at a price that's comparable to treated lumber. "We've had tremendous interest for use in hog and dairy barns because our plastic wood wears like concrete and yet it's much warmer, non-abrasive, and it doesn't harbor bacteria. It's also non-toxic so there would be no danger if animals, such as horses, chew on it. Many farmers have eliminated the need for litter by building slats out of plastic wood to cover floors in hog, dairy, and sheep buildings," says Finnegan, noting that plastic wood also works great for fence posts (no insulators needed for electric fence), decorative fence posts, picnic tables, benches and any other use that re-quires constant exposure,to the elements. Nailing into the dense, plastic lumber is like nailing into hardwood except that there are no knots to get in the way. You can cut it with a saw and sand the rough edges, although you'll never get a splinter. The wood is black although it can be special ordered in other colors. Finnegan is looking for a U.S. manufacturer to license the process. He notes that one of the biggest markets for the product in England has been to the government for highway warning markers and signs be-cause of the durability of the product. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, F.J.D. Finnegan, Super-wood Holdings, Ltd., Corke Abbey, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland (ph 823322).

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