The Bottom Line Wood plastic composites provide an exciting alternative to solid wood for many applications. These products are relatively new, under constant development, and are likely to improve over time. WPC products, on the other hand, have many of the same limitations as wood in exterior uses, a reality that requires a dose of caution for anyone considering their use. Moreover, a robust life cycle assessment indicates that WPCs have substantially higher environmental impacts in comparison to a naturally durable solid wood product such as western red cedar. While WPCs may be made completely, or nearly so, from recycled content, the overall environmental impact of WPC products is nonetheless large as compared to impacts linked to traditional solid-wood decking products. For anyone seeking to build an environmentally responsible structure, a thorough investigation of environmental attributes of alternatives is always recommended. Single attributes – such as recycled content – while important, do not tell the whole story and need to be considered holistically.