Master Gardeners clean up plastic in Smedley Park to turn into benches

Master Gardeners clean up plastic in Smedley Park to turn into benches

Reprinted by permission, Delaware County Daily Times

By Peg DeGrassa

NETHER PROVIDENCE >> For those who take a seat on one of four benches that the Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Delaware County have installed at Smedley Park, they’d likely never suspect that they’re sitting on thousands of pounds of recycled plastic bags, bubble wrap and stretchy plastic film.

Yet, that’s exactly what went into making the benches, along with the hundreds and hundreds of hours that Master Gardener volunteers spent collecting, sorting, and bundling the kind of plastic most local municipal recycling services do not collect. This is because recycling plastic film, especially, is expensive, requiring significant infrastructure, equipment, water and energy.

“That was part of the appeal,” says Master Gardener Karen Murphy of Glen Mills, who, along with Master Gardener Deb Soutar of Wallingford, co-led the most recent plastic collection project. “Plastic is everywhere, and we don’t know what to do with it.”

That’s where Trex Company Inc., which makes composite decking, comes into the picture.
Beginning in 2022, Master Gardeners began working with the Winchester, Va.-based company, which will send a Trex-made bench for every 1,000 pounds of plastic a group collects over the course of a year. For the first two benches installed at Smedley in 2023, just 500 pounds of plastic were required. Trex later increased the requirement to 1,000 pounds.

In 2024 and throughout most of 2025, the Master Gardener work group spent every Monday morning collecting, bundling and weighing plastic materials at their collection shed in Smedley Park. Once weighed, the plastic was delivered to one of several pickup points, including local supermarkets and department stores.

Master Gardeners spread the word about the program, and it wasn’t long before the collection barrels were full each Monday morning.

“Park visitors dropped off plastic packaging from Amazon deliveries, large plastic film wrapping from new mattresses and other furniture, and lots and lots of plastic bags. Additionally, a few gardeners made arrangements with local commercial enterprises to collect the large quantities of plastic they amass, noted Master Gardener Katie McGeady, another leader on the project.

So, the next time people find themselves at Smedley Park, sitting on a beautiful bench, perhaps admiring one of the well-tended demonstration gardens, know that with dedication and effort, trash can be transformed into treasure.

To learn more about Penn State Extension Master Gardeners, a valuable resource to the Delaware County community, visit the PSU Extension website at https://extension.psu.edu/programs/master-gardener/counties/delaware.
Photo/clearinghouse