Plastic lumber

Plastic lumber is a plastic form of lumber made of virgin or recycled plastic. It is mostly made of plastic and binders such as fiberglass or rebar; not to be confused with wood-plastic composite lumber.^[1] Widely employed in outdoor decking, it is also used for molding and trim and garden furniture such as park benches. Resistant to cracking and splitting when appropriately installed, plastic lumber can be molded with or without simulated wood grain details. Even with a wood grain design, plastic lumber is still easy to distinguish visually from natural timber: the grains are the same uniform color as the rest of the material.

Manufacturers claim plastic lumber is more environmentally-friendly and requires less maintenance than wood/plastic composites or rot-resistant wood.^[2] Commercially available polyvinyl chloride fiberglass composite lumber sold for decking meets stringent fire code standards.^[3] Plastic lumber can displace wood timber (as harvested by forestry).