By Karen Hanna
A Middleburg Heights, Ohio-based company that manufactures outdoor accessories for homes, including fencing, railings and decking, continues to build out its sustainability program. Barrette Outdoor Living Inc. has enjoyed double-digit growth over 2019, communications manager Kim Espenschied said.
Last year, Barrette recycled 38.4 million pounds of PVC and 10.5 million pounds of other plastics, including HDPE and PP, according to its annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report released in May. In July, the injection molding and extrusion company became part of Oldcastle APG, Atlanta, a CRH Co.
“In the past, customers’ views on recycled products were that the products would not perform as well as virgin PVC extruded products,” Espenschied said. “However, over the past couple of years, recycled content — specifically in vinyl and composite decking — has become more widely accepted, and in some cases preferred, by our customers.”
The company’s vinyl extrusion plants in Plant City, Fla., and Fredericksburg, Va., use only recycled substrate in the fences and railings they produce, she said. The company has an in-house system for sourcing and recycling PVC, and last year bought 22 million pounds of recycled materials — including windows, siding, railings, blinds, credit cards, seawall structures and old fencing — from suppliers. Next year, a third plant, in Dover, Del., which has already begun using PVC scrap, will join the program, Espenschied said, “as part of an expansion project that is just getting underway.”
In addition, the company’s Bulls Gap, Tenn., plant reuses more than 17 million pounds of PVC scrap material each year, and its Nephi, Utah, also uses PVC scrap.
“The majority of recycled material that is used in our vinyl products [comes] through Barrette Outdoor Living’s GreenWays Recycling Program,” Espenschied said. “This program provides an outlet for companies that partner with us to manage the disposal of their pre- and post-consumer vinyl/PVC recyclable material.”
At its Biddeford, Maine, plant, Barrette feeds all its deck board scrap and samples into new decking products; it also purchases scrap from outside sources. Meanwhile, its Flint, Mich., plant re-uses 99 percent of scrap materials produced from the in-house injection molding of parts, like plastic lattice, utility screens and decorative screen panels.
Also, in combination with reclaimed and repurposed wood material, Barrette uses a recycled PP/virgin PP mix to produce deck boards with an 80-percent recycled-content composition.
The PP mix includes in-house regrind from scrap boards.
In July, Oldcastle APG, Atlanta, a CRH Co., announced it had purchased Barrette, saying that Barrette’s products would complement its portfolio of Belgard hardscapes, Sakrete packaged products, Techniseal polymeric sand and PebbleTec pool finishes.
“We are excited to see how the integration of our operations and product offerings, which are often installed alongside each other, will solidify APG’s position as the leading provider of building products for the complete outdoor living experience,” Oldcastle President Tim Ortman said.
Prior to the acquisition, in the ESG report released in May, Barrette CEO Jean desAutels acknowledged the effort of employees in the development of more-sustainable products.
He said: “I am thrilled to see the increase in products we are making from recycled materials — our teams have fully embraced the fact that this is now the norm — even if it has meant extra time and effort to figure out new ways to make these materials perform at the level we expect.”
In addition to its recycling programs, the company is exploring other ways to go green. For example, at a new plant it's building in Brooksville, Fla., the company is planning to use energy-efficient lighting and machinery, and it's considering installing a rooftop solar array.
“Being able to say our vinyl products are made in the USA using recycled material and eco-friendly manufacturing processes are great sources of pride for our company,” desAutels said
The new 175,000-square-foot facility, which will be home to both PVC recycling and extrusion, is expected to be complete by early next year, according to the company.
Sustainability isn’t a fad for Barrette, Espenschied said.
“We do not see sustainability as a ‘trend’ — we view it as a necessity to protect our planet and the quality of life for future generations,” she said.
Karen Hanna, senior staff reporter
Karen Hanna | Senior Staff Reporter
Senior Staff Reporter Karen Hanna covers injection molding, molds and tooling, processors, workforce and other topics, and writes features including In Other Words and Problem Solved for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. She has more than 15 years of experience in daily and magazine journalism.
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