subject: If Only Trees Could Talk: Building A Deck Out Of Wood Is Not Threatening The Environment [print this page] Building a deck out of natural hardwood can most definitely make your home look appealing, but some may point out that you're destroying a dozen of healthy trees at the same time. If that's the case, where is the ecological benefit in that? It's best to give wooden decks an opportunity to defend its stand; you may be surprised at exactly what this deck has to say.
First, you have to comprehend how particular materials live their life from start to end. For the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there is what they call a life cycle assessment (LCA) which they define as an assessment of the environmental aspect and effect of a certain product or item in the market. The LCA has four phases: production, treatment, use, and disposal. This is how the EPA typically evaluates certain products as to how they will influence the birds and the trees in the foreseeable future.
Polymer-based decking might have the advantage in regards to materials utilized over wood as it does not make use of any trees. Plastics can help conserve what remains of the world's forests, as they are made artificially in factories. However, when you look at the part when the materials are processed, it's a completely different story.
Unlike plastics, wood is conveniently available and easy to gather, needing fewer equipment to sustain supply. You just need a really good chainsaw to fell a tree that can translate to heaps of wood for deck replacement and building. Other materials may utilize heavy equipment to make these materials, which might additionally require fossil fuel.
In the end, both wood and plastic decks require valuable, natural resources for production. There isn't really a better or worse option when it concerns decking as people have different views on different materials. This is to prove that wood decking isn't really making an adverse impact on the environment. If you take the LCA into account when analyzing plastic and wood decks, you could get a more clear picture.
For more info about wooden decks, you could go to RealOutdoorLiving.com. There is an extensive report you can read, dispelling the myth that wooden decks are hazardous to Mother Nature. While they require felling trees, the EPA is always keeping a close eye on the production process.
