The container you rinse out and drop in your recycling bin doesn’t have to end its life as landfill. In the right hands, it can come back as something built to sit in a park for decades. That’s the thinking behind our Vasse composite range: durable public furniture made entirely from Australian recycled and reclaimed materials, recycled right here in Australia.
Not just recycled plastic
It would be easy to assume a recycled product is simply melted-down plastic. Vasse is more considered than that. Each slat is a 50/50 blend of two materials given a second life: recycled HDPE plastic, sourced from everyday household items like milk, shampoo and food containers, and reclaimed wood flour, milled from clean sawmill offcuts that would otherwise go to waste.
That timber component is the quiet hero. Plastic-only recycled products tend to warp, sag and grow brittle over time. The reclaimed wood gives Vasse its strength and structure, so it holds its shape and its natural ‘wood-look’ finish through years of hard public use. It won’t rot, splinter or crack the way solid timber can, either. You get the warmth of timber without the upkeep, and the sustainability of recycled plastic without the compromise.
Longevity is its own kind of sustainability
At Exteria, we treat product longevity as a sustainability measure in its own right. The longer a piece of furniture stays in the ground, the fewer replacements a council has to buy, freight and eventually dispose of. That’s the circular economy in practice: design out the waste, then make something that lasts, rather than following the old take-make-waste model. It reflects the same commitment behind our participation in schemes like Containers for Change, keeping good material circulating instead of sending it to landfill.
Vasse is built for exactly that. The slats are UV-stabilised to resist fading and weatherproof enough for harsh Australian conditions, from coastal salt spray to inland sun. Every Vasse product carries a 7-year product protection guideline, and the composite itself has a proven track record of more than 18 years in service.
The bottles behind the bench
Here’s the part we find genuinely satisfying. Because Vasse is made from recycled plastic, every product diverts a measurable amount of it from landfill. Counted in 2-litre milk bottles, the numbers add up quickly.
Project spotlight: Humphrey Park, Pinjarra
You can see the impact at scale on a real project. At the Lovegrove Pavilion in Humphrey Park, Pinjarra, the Shire of Murray fitted out the space with a full suite of Vasse seating and table settings. Together, those pieces diverted approximately 6,500 milk bottles from landfill in a single installation, quietly doing environmental work long after the ribbon was cut.
Read more about the project here: Humphrey Park, Lovegrove Pavilion
A small loop with a long tail
An everyday recyclable, given a second life as public furniture that’s built to stay put for decades. If that’s the kind of thinking you want in your next park, reserve or streetscape, the Vasse range is a good place to start.
Could these work for your project?
Get in touch:
P. 1300 785 765
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