Recycled Plastic Lumber Planter

Long garden planters for restaurants in dark grey recycled plastic lumber creates a no-maintenance barrier wall to control access around a chic modern restaurant seating area. They may be sanitized with a pressure cleaner as there is no paint or powder coating to fail. Lifetime Structural Warranty.

Recycled Plastic Lumber Planters: Helping the world’s Rainforests.

In 2009, DeepStream started offering low maintenance Recycled Plastic Lumber Planters (RPL) as an alternative to tropical hardwood planters.

DeepStream's Large square Commercial Wood Planters for Trees use maintenance free recycled plastic lumber inside thier aluminum frames: click for more info
DeepStream’s Large square Commercial Planters made with recycled plastic lumber are strong enough to hold trees thanks to their hidden structural aluminum frames and plastic planter liners.

Over the past 12 years more and more DeepStream customers have been choosing recycled plastic lumber planters over tropical hardwoods harvested from rainforests.  By 2017, RPL was specified more often than natural wood thanks to the concern of our customers and their commitment to the environment.

High profile green roof projects such as Boston’s Fenway Park have chosen DeepStream’s planters as the perfect combination of sustainable design, recycled, and recyclable content providing both the lowest total impact on the environment and lowest cost of ownership over time and low maintenance.

Graph shows Recycled Plastic Lumber is increasing in popularity
Sales of DeepStream Designs’ Recycled Plastic Lumber products exceeded those of Tropical Hardwood by 2017

Recycled Plastic Lumber Planters reduce maintenance costs while enhancing your properties and brands through the timeless beauty and environmental statement that DeepStream Recycled Plastic Lumber Planters, trash and recycling bins make with your customers.

Click to DeepStream's solutions website to see more about commercial quality recycled plastic lumber planters
Recycled Plastic Lumber Planters and combination Commercial Trash and Recycling Receptacle

Like many successful companies, DeepStream was created in a response to a need.  While building a condominium project and reviewing the “universe” of garden planters, we found that what we wanted was not available elsewhere.

Wood planters were all carpenter-built with wood-on-wood construction, and as I’ve detailed in my Planter Selection Blog and, like many other construction techniques and materials, they just don’t last and waste a precious resource and your money. They give your business a bad image of low quality and lack of care, it’s better not to use any at all.

Rickety carpenter built wood planter
Rickety planter with carpenter built techniques soon fall apart as the planter goes to wet and dry cycles

The valuable wood harvested from the world’s rapidly diminishing rainforests is wasted, as the planters tear themselves apart and are thrown away in a few years (typically 3-4 years here in Miami).

Ugly carpenter built wood planter in front of a restaurant
Wood Planters using carpenter built techniques soon fall apart

If your project absolutely must use tropical hardwood, then specify DeepStream’s Mariner Planter System as it is engineered with the principles of Sustainable Design to use, or even reuse, hardwood or recycled plastic lumber in a design that honors the wood, allowing construction that extends wood life by decades.

click tp DeepStream's solutions website for more information on wood vs recycled plastic lumber planters
While not as environmentally friendly as recycled plastic lumber planters DeepStream Commercial Wood Planters will last for decades and create a bright natural sidewalk café while absorbing carbon, giving off oxygen, cooling the sidewalk, and creating business for the restaurant inside that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Harvesting tropical hardwood destroys important habitats around the world, even if “sustainably harvested,” as hardwood trees take 50 years or more to reach maturity.  A recent article in the New York Times put the percentage of tropical hardwood illegally harvested but sold with counterfeit documents at 50% for Brazil and 90% from Peru.

According to the Yale School of Forestry, while estimates vary, it is thought that between 30 and 50% of all certified Tropical Hardwood shipped into the United states has been “Greenwashed,” meaning that shipments have been provided with falsified and counterfeit documentation. In some countries like Peru, it’s estimated that 90% are illegally logged, devastating their Amazon watershed.

For more information click here: “ Greenwashed” Timber and FSC certification

Planters made with non-structural Recycled Plastic Lumber planks (RPL) inside DeepStream’s unique structural aluminum frame are a perfect choice for outdoor placement, while making a strong environmental statement.

Recycled Plastic Lumber 5 color samples of standard embossed woodgrain Recycled Plastic Lumber
Recycled Plastic Lumber 5 color samples of standard embossed woodgrain Recycled Plastic Lumber

Separate from the environmental concerns about using real tropical hardwoods, we highly recommend RPL Wood Planters, especially in locations such as shopping centers and parking lots, locations serving food and drinks which stain natural wood and make a mess, or anywhere sanitation and easy maintenance are a concern.  Because DeepStream’s trademark planter legs are anodized, not painted or powder coated, RPL planters can be pressure cleaned.

All natural tropical hardwood planters will turn a light gray color and show stains and mold spots if not treated with a waterproofing and UV protector several times a year. This treatment will make all wood darker over time.

Given the time and expense necessary to keep natural hardwood looking good, and the damage done to the rain forests to harvest it, versus the “set and forget” ease of using recycled plastic lumber, you should give serious thought to which you will select for your project. RPL comes with a 50-year manufacturer’s limited warranty, and DeepStream’s aluminum frame makes up for the fact that is non-structural.

DeepStream makes it easy and cost effective to go Green and stop contributing to climate change. See the comparison between natural hardwood and recycled lumber on this informative page and decide for yourself. By selecting recycled plastic lumber for your order, you will be preserving the world’s rainforests, the cooling lungs of the earth, while creating a sustainable market for post-consumer and post-industrial plastic waste.

Recycled Plastic Lumber 5 color samples of premium woodgrain Recycled Plastic Lumber plus black and white smooth, planks
Recycled Plastic Lumber 5 color samples of premium woodgrain Recycled Plastic Lumber, so real you have to touch it to tell its not wood plus black and white smooth, planks. 50 year warranty, low maintenance and pressure cleanable for sanitation and to remove graffiti.

Please discuss saving this diminishing resources for future generations with clients that specify tropical hardwoods. Our recycled plastic lumber requires no maintenance and lasts for decades without fading, saving your clients money while looking better over time than wood ever will.

If you do order natural hardwood, unlike carpenter-built planters, with DeepStream’s trademark anodized aluminum extrusions you know that your purchase will last for decades and not waste this precious resource.

Like offsetting your carbon footprint by buying carbon credits, another way to reduce this impact is to replant far more trees than are used in crafting our products. We do so in our customers names through Trees for the Future.

Before specifying tropical hardwood for your projects please look at the comprehensive worldwide overview of the problem created by using tropical information presented at this link

Eliminate needless rainforest destruction by specifying DeepStream RPL planters and fixtures. The RPL DeepStream uses is backed by a 50-year limited warranty by its manufacturer.

Please call Sheila at DeepStream Designs 305 857-0466 to discuss your needs.

Trees for the Future logo and link
Trees for the Future Logo and Link

For every product DeepStream’s American craftsmen create for our clients using wood or recycled plastic lumber, we plant between 50 and 100 trees in your honor through Trees For The Future.  By mid-2021 our program has planted more than 500,000 trees. Their Forest Garden program has many positive benefits for the earth and its people, in addition to planting trees. 

Recycled Plastic Lumber makes a Garden Green

The Ultimate Recycling Statement

DeepStream Designs’ mantra:  “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” is evident in recycled plastic lumber planters and recycling bins created to reduce human impact on the environment.  As I pointed out in a blog on Plastic Lumber Planters  more and more customers are making the switch to recycled plastic lumber reducing environmental impact at the same time as maintenance costs.

Recycled Plastic Lumber is perfect for clients that are working on projects striving to integrate sustainable design into their projects.  Using Recycled Plastic Lumber (RPL) for planters not only reduces tropical rainforest deforestation but it also greatly reduces maintenance for you saving you time, money, and effort.

The color of Recycled Plastic Lumber Planters Vs the color of 3 year old tropical hardwood planter like teak

For 10 years now, DeepStream Designs has been building planters with the same sophisticated design as the  wood Mariner planter using HDPE plastic lumber made from 100% recycled milk jugs and also planters from Phenolic resin and 100% recycled cardboard.  Recycled Plastic Lumber (RPL) combined with our trademark marine aluminum extrusions and aircraft aluminum frameless design is a no-nonsense “set and forget it package” perfect for restaurants, commercial installations, and residential projects where minimal maintenance is as important as aesthetics.

As with all planters, the plants themselves help cool the earth,  cleaning the air by producing oxygen as they convert and trap carbon.  In addition, RPL planters crafted by  DeepStream reduce man’s impact on the environment because:

  • It’s RECYCLED and RECYCLABLE!

– Using recycled plastic lumber or cardboard and phenolic lumber planks eliminates the cutting of trees and uses far less energy to ship and manufacture.

– The plastic lumber DeepStream uses is made from recycled HDPE (high-density polyethylene) from milk jugs and other polyethylene packaging that might otherwise be destined for landfills.

– The planter and recycle bin liners are also both made from  LLDPE ( low–density polyethylene).

– Aluminum, the world’s most available and abundant mineral, legs and straps, along with plastic components are 100% recyclable.

  • Maintenance Free!

– Uses no energy, chemicals, or materials to maintain.

– Recycled plastic lumber  never needs to be painted, oiled, or stained and won’t rot, splinter or split an in DeepStream’s marine anodized frame with no paint or powder coating to fail it can be pressure cleaned.

Recycled Plastic Lumber 5 color samples of standard embossed woodgrain Recycled Plastic Lumber
Recycled Plastic Lumber 5 color samples of standard embossed woodgrain Recycled Plastic Lumber
Recycled Plastic Lumber 5 color samples of premium woodgrain Recycled Plastic Lumber plus black and white smooth, planks
Recycled Plastic Lumber 5 color samples of premium wood grain Recycled Plastic Lumber, so real you have to touch it to tell its not wood plus black and white smooth, planks. 50 year warranty, low maintenance and pressure cleanable for sanitation and to remove graffiti.
3 samples of tropical hardwood options Ipe, Jatoba, and Cumaru
3 Tropical Hardwood Options

– Proprietary extruded legs of 6063-T5  aluminum are finished with a durable etched marine anodized finish and HDPE non-scuff feet.

– Stainless steel fasteners are installed with dialectric paste to prevent corrosion.

– Modular design facilitates easy repair should a product be damaged.   Recycle the damaged piece and receive a replacement piece at DeepStream’s manufacturing cost, using their Core Replacement Program.  Don’t throw away that valuable product!

  • RPL Colors won’t fade – Ultra-violet stabilizers used in the lumber ensure colors look as vibrant decades from now as they do today.
  • Cost EffectiveWorking with 100% recycled plastic lumber and cardboard phenolic lumber not only reduces production costs, but it also requires NO MAINTENANCE, reducing the life-cycle-cost of ownership over time compared to wood Garden Planters.

While the 100% recycled plastic lumber specified for DeepStream is still full 3/4″ thick tongue and groove planking with a simulated wood grain, and only a few cents a square foot less than natural hardwood lumber, several aspects of Commercial LEED Garden Planters and Recyclers reduce the manufacturing cost without cutting quality so that DeepStream can pass along the savings to its customers:

  • Planter Boxes and waterproof liners with drainage are stocked in specific sizes to eliminate waste.
  • Planing, sanding, and hand-rubbed finish are eliminated taking hours off of production time and saving energy.

Optional drain attachments with overflow control on the liners allow  planters to be used in any interior or exterior installations.

Planters with liners ship fully assembled, just add dirt, or they can be disassembled for shipping or flat storage in 15 minutes.

DeepStream's 100% recycled cardboard Phenolic lumber
DeepStream’s 100% recycled cardboard Phenolic lumber
RPL Tropical Hardwood Grain
RPL Tropical Hardwood Grain
Ipe Brown 100% RPL on top of natural Ipe
Ipe Brown 100% RPL on top of natural Ipe
RPL Aged Hardwood Grain
RPL Aged Hardwood Grain

“Ipe” Brown RPL planters

DeepStream LEED 100% Recycled Plastic Ipe Brown Planter
DeepStream LEED 100% Recycled Plastic Ipe Brown Planter

“Ipe” Brown RPL planters

DeepStream' LEED 100% recycled plastic and aluminum garden planters
DeepStream’ LEED 100% recycled plastic and aluminum garden planters

Phenolic, cardboard and resin, planks look like leather and thrive in the harshest conditions.

Shown here with aluminum Zephyr banding separating the planks on a 36″ cube Mariner planter and stock liner.

DeepStream planter made with 100% recycled cardboard lumber
DeepStream planter made with 100% recycled cardboard lumber

For more information on Sustainable Garden Planter Design click here.

Modular planters make custom easy

Cost effective Long Rooftop Planters feature Simple Slide-in-Easy assembly and rugged planter liners

DeepStream Designs modular planters means that any aspect of the planter can be customized for any location including long planters of infinite length.

Whether it’s material or size, almost any special need can be accommodated.  Installation in even the most difficult locations can be accomplished without cranes or lots of expensive labor.  Sections assemble in 10 minutes or less once placed in location.

Click Here to see why DeepStream builds it’s planters as it does.

Large Custom Prefabricated Garden Planter Assembly is quick and easy about 10-15 minutes per section using a #3 screwdriver
Large Custom Prefabricated Garden Planter Assembly is quick and easy, about 10-15 minutes per section, using a #3 screwdriver
DeepStream Designs modular 31" tall 4 section Ipe wood planter with plastic liners
DeepStream Design’s cost effective prefabricated modular 31″ tall 4 section Ipe wood planter with plastic liners backed with a Lifetime-Structural-Warranty
Click for more info on DeepStream's multi-section prefabricated modular wood garden planter with a wood screen wall.
eepStream’s multi-section prefabricated modular wood garden planter with a wood screen wall.

Modular planter design means that Standard waterproof outdoor speakers can be hidden under a standard planter liner in a planter with 31″ high legs at moderate cost.

Some installations call for more. Here are pictures of one such set of custom planters, part of a larger custom project, where the Designer needed special 12” subwoofers hidden in the planter.  Using a longer extrusion, for a higher leg, we were able to place the large subwoofer in a custom enclosure under the planter liner.

Custom wood aluminum planter houses a stereo speaker
Custom wood aluminum planter houses a stereo speaker
Garden planter stereo speaker showing supports for waterproof liner
Garden planter stereo speaker showing supports for waterproof liner
Planter stereo speaker enclosure with drain, speaker is under the liner
Planter stereo speaker enclosure with drain, speaker is under the liner

Looking down into planter liner with drain that lines up with port through the speaker, drain hose and top caps to be mounted on site are inside, foot caps temporarily caping legs during final assembly

We started with the specifications from the speaker company regarding the optimum volume and material for the speaker box required for the best sound quality.  Using a special waterproof weather resistant material that met the speaker company’s resonance specifications, we built a waterproof custom speaker box to fit inside the modular planter that would retain the exact optimum interior volume after we added the necessary waterproof pass-through ports for drain and drip irrigation lines.

custom outdoor speaker enclosure
Custom outdoor speaker enclosure

The height of the modular planter is the result of the critical footprint dimension specified by the Landscape Architect and Interior Designer.  Their design called for the planter to sit exactly on top of a specific paver size that would have a conduit for hidden power and speaker cables ported through a hole in its center.  With our custom capabilities we were able to give them the exact installation they needed for both the speaker and the liner, with the necessary drainage and root depth that the specified planting called for.

In addition to our stock roto-molded waterproof planter liners DeepStream custom welds food safle planter liners, liners in house to your exact specification..

16 sizes of rugged waterproof stock planter liners and custom welded liners to any size: click the picture for more information
Lightweight wood planters need liners to prevent them from rotting. Here you see 16 stock sizes of rugged waterproof, food safe, plastic planter liners with advanced drainage Custom welded planter liners are available in any size.

  

Landscape Architects Help You Avoid Expensive Mistakes!

DeepStream large commercial planters with screen wall and the fight soil mixture grow colorful flowers on this urban roof deck oasis

Using Landscape Architects will save you money as you choose the proper plants for your site specific micro-climate. As you consider the integration of watering, nutrition, PH, soil weight vs depth and drainage it creates a complex matrix of possibilities that can make your head spin.

Roof top planters create a jungle that cools a building saving the penthouse 20% on electricity
Roof top planters create a jungle that cools a building saving the penthouse 20% on electricity

Believe me when I say: make a conscious decision not to use a Landscape Architect for larger projects because you WANT to go through the learning process, or because you have already been through the school of hard knocks, not because you want to save money.

While I acknowledge that I’m the type of person who wants to know “everything” and research the “double hell” out of everything I do, there are many things I either don’t have time for or don’t have enough interest in to get down to the really fine details about.

Having said that, probably like you since you’re reading this, when I do the research I want to buy as direct as possible and with DeepStream you are buying factory direct.

Mother nature’s miracle is making overwhelmingly complex systems naturally simple and available.  However, an extensive container garden or green roof is a totally artificial environment vs a backyard.

You need to pick the right planting medium for your plants, planters, environment, and drainage conditions.
There are many starting options as you create the right planting medium for your plants, planters, environment, and drainage conditions.

You are trying to mimic nature and chances are that over the long run you won’t save money on larger projects without using the services of a  Landscape Architect.  I don’t want you kicking yourself later.

As in back-country powder skiing and mountain climbing, you don’t get all the information from a book.  It takes years of experience to understand local conditions and seasonal changes to stay alive. The same is true for your plants.

When property owners and customers of DeepStream Designs contact me about large planter projects directly we make a conscious effort to have you at least consider the services of a Landscape Architect.

Landscape Architects large recycled plastic planter for trees
large recycled plastic planter for trees

Believe me, if you have even a medium-size project, the slight mark up Landscape Architects may put on products in addition to their fee is money well invested if you, or your project, are the type that can’t live with expensive and time consuming false starts.

Click here for more information on Landscape Architects

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