“Recycling is not enough; we need to be thinking about making products that last longer and live outside of their original purpose.“

Amanda Lacy kept finding herself staring at play structures. The mom of three was looking to add a playground set to her Maine backyard, but instead of being inspired, she saw waste.

“I noticed so many rotting play structures in people’s yards. Rusted out swing sets, unsafe rotted wood. I knew there had to be a better option,” says Lacy.

Lacy believes if you have an idea, you can create it. With a background in product development, she set out to build a different type of backyard playground—a greener version that wouldn’t end up in a landfill.

Backyard playground equipment can be such an asset for kids and parents. First, it keeps children busy. It also gets them playing outside, a need child development experts tell us has many benefits, including building self-esteem and helping to develop physical and cognitive skills. And that time outside can help nurture a love for nature. Of all the outdoor products parents buy for kids, however, play structures are generally the largest both in size and cost. In the U.S., these units have an average price tag of $2,500, while coming with another downside: a large environmental footprint.

“Kids get bored quickly, and they grow out of things; if I was investing in my space and with my hard-earned money, I wouldn’t want a monstrosity that was going to rot and eventually be thrown away, “ says Lacy. She grew up in a rural community where making things last by reusing and repurposing was woven into the fabric of her childhood.

Let’s face it: kids do flit from one toy to the next fairly quickly. Yet, most manufacturers of playset equipment employ plastic materials with limited opportunity for reuse or recycling. In fact, less than 10 percent of plastic gets recycled. Rather, it ends up in landfills for hundreds of years, degrading into microplastics. These microplastics leach toxic chemicals into the soil and water. Even playground equipment made of metal or wood pose challenges for removal and recycling.

“Recycling is not enough; we need to be thinking about making products that last longer and live outside of their original purpose,” says Lacy.

In response to these problems, Lacy developed a portable playset called Bijou Build. The unit, which starts at around $600, features UV-resistant fabric panels made from 50 percent recycled water bottles. The panels attach to standard pressure-treated 2×4 lumber pieces available at local hardware stores using steel brackets made of 20% recycled steel. Heavy-duty carabiners and velcro straps create a triangle fort that includes a climbing section on one side and a platform seat inside. The result: a functional, aesthetic playscape.

Assembly of the unit takes around an hour with two adults, even for those who lack handiness. After the initial setup, parents can collapse the unit for storage in a garage, then pop it open and stake it in the ground within minutes. No year-round eyesore deteriorating in the sun, rain, and snow. 

To lend further interest to the unit, Lacy designed system add-ons such as different swings that even teens or adults sitting by a firepit can enjoy. She also developed a rope bridge, as well as a solar panel that fuels LED lights for use at night.

“It can adapt to where you are in your life,” says Lacy. “Bijou can be used by kids, then transitions to teens, and then can ultimately be used by adults, and then can come back around for kids. You can remove the wood and easily give Bijou as a gift or sell it to someone else,” she says. The set has one more feature: a built-in lesson for children on the value of reusing and repurposing belongings throughout their lives.