Kickstart: More chances to enjoy the great outdoors

Welcome to August, where staycation season remains a big driver for consumer dollars.

Just in the past few days, Plastics News has run stories on a $61 million expansion for Poly-Wood LLC, a maker of Adirondack chairs and other outdoor furniture made from recycled high density polyethylene, in Roxboro, N.C. That is in addition to a $42 million expansion of an Indiana facility announced in November.

Meanwhile, decking and railing maker Barrett Outdoor Living Inc. is spending $33 million to add production to its Bulls Gap, Tenn., site. It is also in the midst of an expansion, announced in January, to its Plant City, Fla., facility.

Plastics are also making it possible for more people to enjoy the beach. A 270-foot hard plastic "carpet" has made its debut at the municipal beach at Beauport Bay in Quebec City, Quebec.

CBC writes that the city installed a plastic blue mat for about $15,000, providing a hard surface for wheelchair users to be able to get to the water.

Maxime Boily told the CBC that he rarely went to the beach, and when he did in the past, he had to rely on friends who could lift him across the sand. Now he says he goes several times each month.

"I feel so happy because it's the first time I see this kind of equipment," Boily told the broadcaster. "I can push my wheelchair alone — I don't need help."

Quebec isn't the only community embracing the mats. The city of Hamburg, N.Y., has a similar system in place at its beach.

The Life Time fitness club chain is ditching single-use plastic water bottles.

The Minnesota-based company announced July 30 that it will halt the use of plastic bottles at its 150 athletic facilities across North America by Labor Day. It says the move will cut more than 1.6 million plastic bottles annually.

It will instead sell aluminum bottles with its branded logo. Aluminum, it said, has a better recycling track record than plastics.

Other sustainability efforts involving plastics: replacing swimsuit bags in locker rooms with bags from plastics reclaimed from marine environments; paper mouthwash cups rather than plastic in locker rooms; and having only compostable salad containers, cutlery, plates and bowls in its cafes.