Angus Council Ranger Service Case Study

As part of the 'Best Value' review, a priority for Angus Council is to continually review the man-hours and financial costs associated with maintenance work thoughout the county. The Council's Ranger Service is responsible for three country parks and numerous picnic sites across Angus.

The Chief Countryside Ranger, identified a need to replace a jetty as part of the maintenance schedule at a reservoir within Crombie Country Park. After visiting Perthshire based recycled plastic supplier, Kacey Limited, to discuss the possibility of using recycled plastic profiles, a decision was taken with senior management to undertake a trial using this material to assess its potential in this environment.

The estate team used recycled plastic profiles in the construction of a jetty and found no difficulties when working with the material. The jetty has been in place for three years, and to date it has proved to be robust, with the plastic showing no signs of rotting or discolouration.

Chief Countryside Ranger, Tom McGrath explains: "We were impressed with the profiles, which were relatively light and as easy to install as timber. The fact that the recycled plastic does not rot is a real advantage for us, as so much of the area we are responsible for is exposed to damp and harsh conditions, particularly around reservoirs.

"Based on the results with the jetty, we also decided to trial recycled plastic picnic tables and purchased six for an urban site that is prone to vandalism. We installed six traditional style, dark brown picnic tables, within Forfar Loch Coountry Park, a country park surrounded by urban development on the fringe of Forfar. To date, there have been no visible signs of vandalism and we find this very encouraging.

"Another major benefit of the recycled plastic benches is that, unlike the timber benches we had before, they do not need to be put into storage over the winter months. This saves us time, as we do not need to dismantle and move the benches, and, more importantly, it frees up storage space, which can then be used for other things.

"The public response has been positive and we intend to purchase more products with a recycled plastic content in the future.