When we begin a playground build, one of the first questions we ask is, “What kind of interesting junk do you have?” We love recycling unusual materials into playground equipment. If you think creatively, you can often find free recycled materials that can be transformed into some of the most creative outdoor play equipment designs. Mobilize your team to be on the look-out for anything you could use on your playground build! These are just a few of the ways we’ve seen recycled materials creatively used in playground builds:
The most popular recycled material we use on playgrounds is used car tires. Tires can be transformed into a nearly unlimited number of play equipment pieces! Many of the outdoor play equipment elements in our design library are made from used car tires.
This cracked water tank in Uganda was transformed into a play hut by cutting a door and windows and adding a thatched roof.
Old steering wheels make this play bus come to life in Papua New Guinea.
A local medical clinic in Kenya donated their broken equipment to be used in this play clinic.
Old oil barrels were cut open, flattened, washed and then turned into siding on these play shop stalls.
We removed and sanded down any sharp bits, and then parked this broken tractor on a playground in Papua New Guinea. And kids loved it!
What “interesting junk” do you have lying around that could be transformed into outdoor play equipment?
