Zink's first steps toward producing plastic lumber came with his invention of machinery to clean off the glue and labels on recycled plastic, such as milk jugs, plastic barrels and shampoo bottles. He produced raw material for other manufacturers who made pipe and other materials.
As timber prices have risen, plastic lumber producers have been springing up around the country, and three years ago Zink decided to give it a try.
The company makes dimension lumber from 2-by-4s to 12-by-12s, as well as specialty pieces, such as mailbox posts, bench frames and posts with a pipe inside that campgrounds use for water spigots. Zink has been experimenting with milling the finished lumber to make tongue-and-groove decking.
Pressed out of a 150-horsepower extruder at 10,000 pounds pressure into a steel mold, the lumber comes in such colors as brown, gray and blue, with a wood-like grain.
Though plastic lumber has good compression strength, it is too floppy on a span to frame a house, and it expands and contracts too much with temperature changes to be used for railroad ties, but it is finding growing acceptance for decking.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Prineville District in eastern Oregon is using Resco 4-by-6s to make picnic tables for campgrounds.
Recreation technician Roy Tidwell says the plastic is hotter than wood to sit on when it has been out in the sun, but stands up better to vandalism and doesn't need painting.
"It costs probably a third more than regular structural material if we were to buy 4-by-6 wood," he said. "But we feel that over the long run we do better, because of the annual maintenance it no longer requires."
To comply with a state policy of promoting recycled materials, the Oregon Marine Board specifies plastic lumber for the tie-up railing on floating docks at state boating facilities.
The neighboring Georgia-Pacific lumber mill has little reason to worry about losing much market share to plastic just yet, but Zink is optimistic about the future.
Resco Plastics is the only plastic lumber producer between Vancouver, British Columbia, and San Francisco, said Zink, and has distributors in Hawaii and Canada.
