NETHER PROVIDENCE — For those who take a seat on one of four benches that the Penn State Extension Master Gardeners of Delaware County have installed at Smedley Park, they’d likely never suspect that they’re sitting on thousands of pounds of recycled plastic bags, bubble wrap and stretchy plastic film.

Yet, that’s exactly what went into making the benches, along with the hundreds and hundreds of hours that Master Gardener volunteers spent collecting, sorting, and bundling the kind of plastic most local municipal recycling services do not collect. This is because recycling plastic film, especially, is expensive, requiring significant infrastructure, equipment, water and energy.

“That was part of the appeal,” says Master Gardener Karen Murphy of Glen Mills, who, along with Master Gardener

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