After a long life of keeping pools protected from the winter elements, what happens to a winter pool cover? In lieu of the landfill, some winter covers are finding a second life in unexpected places.
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For example, Guided Hope is a non-profit organization with a ranch in Berthoud, Colo., home to horses, llamas, cows, goats, and more. The ranch's mission is to help individuals and families coping with grief, military deployment, medical hardships and other tough situations a chance to reconnect through work, education, play and service. Guests can feed pigs, pet rabbits, gather eggs — all the staples of ranch life, followed by classes and small group studies.
However, upkeep for the ranch can get costly, which means staffers have to get creative. When looking for ways to shade the chicken pen, owner Kaarin Scoma turned to repurposedMATERIALS, a website that connects sellers with unique byproducts (like vinyl billboards, rubber, wood products, steel and more) to buyers with a creative idea for using them in a new way.
Through the website, Scoma purchased a retired mesh safety cover and attached it to the chicken pen. Voila! An inexpensive way to keep chickens cool (see inset photo). Others have used winter pool covers as lumber tarps, shop dividers, tennis court windscreens and more.
