In December 1995, New York put recycled plastic lumber made from discarded milk jugs, water bottles and detergent containers to use in a pier at West Meadow Creek, Old Field. Two years of monitoring examined how the material's engineering properties held up in the marine environment. According to the study published in ResearchGate, titled ‘ Long-term engineering properties of recycled plastic lumber used in pier construction ’, its dimensional stability, compression modulus and Shore D surface hardness remained similar to or greater than their original values. However, the modulus of elasticity fell after 12 months before recovering towards its initial level during the second year. The researchers said this variability limited the material's suitability to non-load-bearing structural applications.
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