INTERVIEW - Lewis Patterson, |
EPS News Interview – Lewis Patterson, Beach Services, Bournemouth PS - EPS Starring role in Christmas Panto
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Bournemouth District Council is leading the way in finding innovative ways to use recycled plastics. This February its latest purchase, a beach chalet made out of recycled polystyrene, has been widely covered in the local TV, radio and press. Lewis Patterson, of Beach Services tells EPS NEWS about it. Why did you start looking at recycled plastic building materials? The sea front is a harsh environment. The salt air and the damp environment and the impact of people all take their toll on wooden items on the sea front. The strength of the recycled plastic material makes it ideal for this environment. In addition it helps Bournemouth District Council to fulfil its Agenda 21 requirements. (Local Agenda 21 is an action plan agreed by many Governments at the 1992 Earth Summit. Its goal is sustainable development.) What was your first purchase? We bought some benches made from recycled plastic bottle tops. They have been able to stand up well to the rigours of both the seaside climate and the skateboarders who like to roll over them! We have not had to repaint or repair the benches and the fact that they have kept their smart looks helps us to keep our sea front looking good. They have been a great success. Why did you buy a beach chalet made from recycled polystyrene? The great attraction is that it is maintenance-free. We have over 600 beach chalets and they all need a great deal of maintenance each year to keep them in good condition. If this one performs well it could be the first of many. How did the cost of the recycled chalet compare to that of a traditional wooden chalet? Cost-wise it has worked out the same as having a chalet built by a craftsman. And we expect to save on the maintenance costs, which could be as much as £100 per chalet per year. What maintenance will you have to do on the recycled chalet? We will power hose it down once a year. Are there any other advantages to using the recycled polystyrene chalet? The chalet is very attractive. It is a charcoal grey on the outside. On the inside it looks like a real log cabin and it is more attractive than the traditional chalets. Also if we order more chalets we will be able to introduce other colours such as blue and green. The chalet is easy to assemble. It comes as 'flat pack' and it only weighs 1 tonne —the wooden ones weigh three tonnes. We have bolted it straight onto the promenade, which is another benefit because it is more easily accessible to wheelchairs and the elderly than the wooden chalets, which are mounted on blocks. How will you be monitoring the chalet during the pilot? We will be looking to see if it performs as well as we expect it to. How it survives the seaside climate is an important test and we will also be checking to see if it is vandalised. What next? Our plan is to get a beach hut made out of the same material to test that too. We have 1,600 beach huts, they are smaller than the chalets and we sell them to people, so they are responsible for the maintenance themselves. These huts are often owned by the elderly, who may not want to spend time or money maintaining them, so we think a low-maintenance option could be very popular. Once again, it helps us to keep our sea front looking tidy. Neglected beach huts can look very run down and unattractive.
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The strength of the recycled plastic material makes it ideal for this harsh environment
The chalet is easy to assemble. It comes as 'flat pack' and it only weighs 1 tonne |
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The beach chalets are supplied by Plastic Building Materials Unit 3-5 Plasmarl Industrial Park Beaucroft Road Swansea SA6 8JG Contact: Mike Janes, National Sales Manager Tel: 07967 747 054 |
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