New equipment for Surfside Jetty Park will be made wholly from recycled plastics….
ANGLETON — Fifteen Brazoria County petrochemical companies have partnered to bring a new playground to a county park made from recycled plastics.
The representatives from the Brazoria County Petrochemical Council assembled Tuesday morning before commissioners’ court to announce the $210,000 donation. The money will allow the county to replace the playground at Surfside Beach Jetty Park, which had to be removed because it became a hazard after long-term exposure to the elements.
“Anytime you look at investing dollars into something like that, you’re talking about some serious dollars. So we were prepared to go back to the drawing board,” Brazoria County Parks Director Bryan Frazier said. “What could we put out that would last a little longer?” The petrochemical council reached out about that time suggesting a partnership and asking what potential projects the parks department would have in mind. Installing playground equipment made from recycled plastics jumped to the top of the list.
“It gives the interpretive message of what we are all about anyway, which is, ‘Don’t throw your plastic bottles on the ground,’” Frazier said. “Do something positive with them; recycle them. And they answered the call.”
Contributors to the council’s donation include MEGlobal Americas, Dow Chemical, BASF, Freeport LNG, Shintech, K-Bin, Shin-Etsu, Olin Corp., Port Freeport, DSM, Vopak Industrial Infrastructure Americas Freeport, Ineos, Phillips 66, Chevron Phillips Chemical and LyondellBasell.
It likely will be about six months after the new equipment is ordered before the playground is open, Frazier said. The department hopes to place the order as soon as possible, and it will take several months to arrive, he said.
The $210,000 donation should cover most if not all of the cost of the equipment and installation, Frazier said.