Park Yourself in the Park

By Ashley Harbaugh, assistant editor

Bedford Technology uses 100 percent recycled plastic lumber for their benches. Bedfor says the material does not splinter, fade or rot and it does not require painting or staining.
Photo: Bedford Technology, LLC

While playground toys are the main draw for rambunctious kids, stylish and eco-friendly benches offer an attractive seat for adults.

Although eyes usually first spot the screaming, jumping kids that use the brightly colored toys and contraptions in a playground, they then wander to the parents and people relaxing on the sidelines. DuMor, Inc., Diamond Teak, Bedford Technology, LLC, Forms+Surfaces, and Eagle One all provide an array of pleasing and eco-friendly park benches for people to sit and watch the playground chaos.

DuMor, Inc. offers some 65 bench designs in a full range of colors and strives to use the highest percentage of postconsumer, postindustrial content steel, the highest quality recycled plastic and as much wood as possible from mills that harvest on a sustained-yield basis. The company also creates custom designed benches. This Pennsylvania-based company?EUR??,,????'?????<

Diamond Teak creates durable benches from teak wood. ?EUR??,,????'?????<Photo: Diamond Teak

DuMor also offers a program called Fallen Heroes that donates a standard plaque with the purchase of a bench for any serviceman or woman, police officer, firefighter or first responder who has died in the line of duty. This plaque can be engraved as the client wishes to memorialize the fallen hero.

DuMor Inc. has over 65 bench designs in a variety of colors.
Photo: DuMor, Inc.

Diamond Teak is a company that specializes in teak furniture and accessories for indoor and outdoor use. Because of its high oil content, teak is very durable and long-lasting and it does not require any special maintenance. From this beautiful, resilient wood, the company crafts benches of elegance and comfort. ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Diamond Teak grows teak from their plantations in Costa Rica, a place that once suffered from the highest deforestation in the world and now designates up to 30 percent of the land as national parks.

The sleek metal benches of Forms+Surfaces are used in contemporary and traditional settings.
Photo: Forms+Surfaces

Another material that is both environmentally friendly and resilient for outdoor use is recycled plastic, a material that Bedford Technology, LLC uses for their park benches. The company says its high-density typopolyethylene plastic lumber does not rot or splinter; a UV protector prevents color fade; the manufacturing from this plastic does not create any toxic by-products; and any waste that?EUR??,,????'?????<

Eagle One?EUR??,,????'?????<

Eagle One says their recycled high-density polyethylene (Greenwood) allows its benches to resist severe climates without any need for maintenance.
Photo: Eagle One

Benches manufactured by Forms+Surfaces are created from fully recyclable metal components suitable for indoor and outdoor use and require minimal maintenance. The bench frame is rustproof solid cast aluminum with the choice of a standard or custom color powdercoat finish. The seat is corrosion-resistant stainless steel. Seats also come with the choice of a standard or custom color powdercoat finish.

These manufacturing companies all provide beautiful park benches. Even the most kid-dominated environment can have a touch of grown-up sophistication.