What type of green building material should i choose when building a NEW deck? This is a question posed by a reader of Natural Home Mag, and it is great one, so i thought i would feature it here, for all to benefit.

Wood, Plastic, or Composite? 

Umbra Fisk who writes a column at eco site Grist, answers the question. The reader wants to know if when building his deck, he should choose wood, plastic, or composite? (a blend of wood and plastic) First Umbra advise to check with local shops like Home Depot and Lowe’s for FSC certified wood, which is certified sustainable wood. I’ll explain FSC at the end of the post. If the local shops don’t pan out, she then advises to look for reclaimed, salvaged, or locally milled wood. If that is not available in your area, then move on to composite and then finally plastic options. If going with plastic, choose recycled plastic versus new virgin plastic.

What is FSC Certified Wood?

The acronym FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council, and this organization created a  FSC label program to enable consumers to consider cabinet grade lumber that does not come from a decimated forest or threatened tree specie. The program ensures environmental responsibility.

To Recap:

• search local shops for FSC wood
• look for reclaimed, salvaged, or locally milled wood
• then move on to composite and plastic options
• if going with plastic or composite, choose recycled

Source [Sept/Oct Natural Home Mag]