Wooden Windows, Plastic Windows And Their Eco-Friendliness

Wooden Sash Windows or plastic windows which one is better for the environment? As society becomes ever more aware of the need to become more friendly to the global ecology, for a number of reasons, the question about just which type of window is better for the environment becomes important to consider. For one, certain waste products from window manufacturing can last hundreds or even thousands of years, so keep that in mind.

The first thing to understand is that the matter involving wooden or plastic windows generally involves the framing in which the glass or other transparent medium sits in. In general, glass is far less environmentally-burdensome because its basic constituent is sand-based and pretty much completely natural. Wood and plastic, though, depending on how they're manufactured, can bring other environmental issues to the fore. In general, though, wood is more natural.

Plastics of all types, whether used in window frames or the casings that go around modern-day flat panel LCD TVs, is made using a number of potentially-harmful chemical processes. It also tends not to be biodegradable in any appreciable fashion. Once made, they just don't break down over any amount of time that can be appreciated by humans. Sometimes, they can take thousands of years before they begin to degrade, in fact.

Generally, wooden sash windows, especially when they're made in an eco-friendly manner, can place far less of a burden on the environment. Of course, the cost of making an environmentally-friendly wooden window can be higher in comparison to a mass-produced plastic window but most environmentalists are quick to point out that the long-term benefit to the environment can be quite significant. Wood can be covered in natural preservative shellacs and the like, for one.

After some consideration, then, of the costs versus the benefits of wood versus plastic, answering the question of just which material is better for the environment may come down to how easy it is to recycle one or the other of the materials. Wood can biodegrade much more easily, which means it's less harmful to the environment over the long run. Plastics are non-biodegradable, generally.

So, then; answering the question (wooden windows or plastic windows which one is better for the environment?) seems easy enough to address. It would seem that, at present, there's really no way to ensure that plastics and the chemicals they're made with can be made less harmful to the environment than wooden windows. That material degrades easily enough and it can be made in a safer manner and then recycled easily, as well, it must be said.

 

For more information please visit http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Insulation/Windows

For Historic wooden sash windows check out http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/your-property/saving-energy/carrying-out-the-work/sash-windows/