There is a company here in the US that is processing scrap tires into gardening muluch. They remove the stainless steel wire from the belts and then chip the rubber and dye it dark brown. It's rather expensive compared to wood chips (4×) but doesn't float away in the rain nor will it host any fungus. We put it down on our patio flower beds 15 years ago and only touch it up every couple of years. It' available at Lowe's here in the US. Ask your local "big box" home improvement store if they can get it.

Re There's a company here in SA that also recycles plastic
They do lots of that stuff here as well Peter, - buckets, plant pots, park benches etc but it seems no one had thought of fence posts. They have also recycled tyres and added it to bitumen for roads trials and a re getting more serious about even adding re cycled plastics, We also re cycle the road material which is milled from the surface and later added to fresh material.

Big problem now is that China won't take our plastic waste any more so we have tons of the stuff building up (hence the road idea) We also recycle concrete from buildings and re use it, along with the steel. We have to come up with more ideas to re use plastics. Plastic bags are no longer used at supermarkets and we have to take our own. Apparently, wherever you go in the world there are micro plastics in the oceans, fish, lakes, glaciers etc so we are all going to turn into blobs of plastic and set solid eventually☹️😭 bugger!
JB

Hi Red,
"Now that plastic is a bad word environmentally not sure how they would be received elsewhere. "
Surely anything that puts it back to work and stops it getting into the seas and atmosphere must be good! Gets my vote anyway!👍
Cheers, Doug 😎

"Are you now into calypso songs JB ? -" There's a hole in my bucket Dear Liza"
Then fix it dear Martin, dear Martin. Then fix it dear Martin, FIX IT!😁😂😎

There's a company here in SA that also recycles plastic JB - makes benches and rubbish bins among other things . Very sturdy items and of course useful near the coast as they don't corrode. Seem to be laminated under pressure into -1" thick - 4" wide beams - articles are tough and last a long time. Now that plastic is a bad word environmentally not sure how they would be received elsewhere.

Are you now into calypso songs JB ? -" There's a hole in my bucket Dear Lisa" sprang to mind when I read your post . Should we now call you Henry ..............

I definitely like the idea of recycling plastics,
As long as his plastic post do not go brittle after time,he could make fences panels next!

Martin555.

Re- fence posts
Don't see why not Martin, certainly worth a try. A young guy here has a world first, doing your trick and recycling plastics,- but into fence posts. Has had interest from round the world. He takes any plastics and somehow blends them into posts, very clever. As long as you sealed the top of the post to stop water going down to the bottom it should work ok. I'll see how long it lasts on the bit of 4x2.

I'll see if I can put some pics up sometime of some uses and a bit of testing. Just tried peeling a couple of bits of 2mm balsa apart which I glued night before last and it took a bit of effort to peel them apart. Still slightly tacky inside but holding well. Could be a good tacking glue then run something round the edges later. Now I've pulled it apart and pressed it back together I can't get it apart without breaking it (sort of like delayed action contact glue)!
JB.

Jb,
I wonder if you could use it on fence posts?
Give the bottom of the post a thick coat of it ,let it go off,then stick the post in the ground.
It might stop the post rotting out so quick!

Martin555.

Re - Could you use it on the outside of a Balsa wood hull
I don't think it would be sandable Martin, as it initially dries a bit soft and rubbery. Might be ok for lining the inside of a hull perhaps, very slimy and spreadable when wet. Slightly heavy, will go quite firm after a few months and harder as it ages, (a bit like chewing gum does) I've lined my galv bucket with it (which was getting a bit rusty from mixing cement) to see how well it stands up. I've also spread it on a 4x2 board outside to see how it holds up to the sun and rain. It could be quite useful as a ballast as I mentioned as it would also strengthen the hull once eventually set, (you would probably have to resin seal the hull first to prevent the petrol eating any glue)

The goop remaining on my tug hull (around 45") went quite firm after a few months and made the hull really tough (only that and some 8oz cloth for the center 1/3 of the hull. Had no problem with it going out of shape. Worth a play to see what else you can do with it. I did a test with two 3"x 12"x3/4 pieces of dressed pine where I just glued about 3" on 1 end of each, let them tack off then clamped them overnight. took about 30lbs of pull to separate them by pulling on the non glued ends.

Probably as good as commercial contact glue. Not sure how long it lasts ( my tug was still good after 5 yrs), but it's almost free, and might be useful if you run out of the proper stuff. I know you love re cycling Martin!
JB

Could you use it on the outside of a Balsa wood hull and sand it smooth for a paint Finnish.?

Martin555.