Sustainability In Chardstock – Axminster, East Devon – July 2026

During the heatwave of 2026, our installers worked hard in intense 30-degrees-plus heat to install a new, non-rotting, non-splintering and sustainable recycled plastic Trim Trail for Chardstock Parish Council in a lovely rural area of East Devon.

Why Recycled Plastic?

The Parish Council were keen to avoid timber equipment, as they knew that recycled plastic would last so much longer and align with their own sustainability credentials and methodology. As trim trails tend to sit in grass, timber trails are very often damaged by strimming and ground rot, whereas our recycled trails don’t suffer from the same fate.

Chosen for Sustainability, Locality and Value

We were chosen from several companies due to our previous work in other areas, our locality, sustainability credentials and value for money.

A Low-Level Linked Trail

The trail, being low level, sits directly in grass, which also acts as the safety surface. It’s called a linked trail because each item has a gap of less than 500mm from one piece to the next, linked by Rubber Log Posts. These posts are far better than timber versions, as they provide slip resistance and impact absorbency, and with their steel stems they don’t rot or suffer from strimmer damage either.

What’s in the Trail

The recycled plastic trim trail consists of:

• Triple Balance Beams, 6m long, with anti-slip strips
• Trapeze Swing, 3m long
• Twister, 3m long
• Tyre Crossing, 3m long
• Inclined Balance Weaver, 3m long, with anti-slip strips
• Rubber Log Posts x 5, connecting items to make a continuous trail
• Pull Up Bars at 2m long x 1m and 1.5m high, with Rubber Grass Mats, 9m²

Why Choose Recycled Plastic for a Parish Trail?

More parish councils are moving away from timber for exactly the reasons Chardstock did, and it comes down to a few clear, practical benefits:

• Long-lasting – highly durable materials mean the trail will be available for the parish’s children, and visiting children, to enjoy for many years to come
• Splinter resistant – unlike timber, the material won’t crack, shift or splinter over time
• Recycled and recyclable – made from recycled materials, and can be recycled again at the end of its long life
• Weather-resistant – copes with the changeable Devon weather, from summer heatwaves to winter wet, without breaking down
• Non-toxic – manufactured in line with DIN EN 71-3, the safety of toys standard

For a public body like a parish council, this also supports their own sustainability commitments and carbon footprint targets, alongside the practical benefit of a trail that won’t need repairing every few years like a timber equivalent would.

The Impact So Far

The project is a huge success, and the effort and heat our installers worked through definitely paid off – very well done to everyone involved. If you’d like to discuss a recycled plastic trim trail for your own parish or community, email our team at info@rhinoplay.co.uk or call 01803 873711. You can read more about the benefits of this approach in our recycled plastic play equipment guide, see a similar project in our Ashburton recycled plastic trim trail case study, or browse more of our case studies.