A deck constructed a new coal-plastic composite material has been constructed outside the CONSOL Innovations offices on the Touchstone campus in Triadelphia. (Photo Provided)

TRIADELPHIA — A composite decking product made from coal waste and plastic is being created in Ohio County.

CONSOL Innovations, located on the Touchstone Campus, has even used it on some local projects. But the product is so new it doesn’t have a name yet.

“It looks like wood, except we put coal in it,” explained Rudolph Olson III, director of new technology for CONSOL Innovations.

A total of 5,000 linear feet of the material have been produced, and 3,500 linear feet presently are available for sale, Olson said. The product currently costs $4 per linear foot versus the $6 to $8 per linear foot for a similar PVC foamed product.

CONSOL Innovations provided the product to West Liberty University to build a deck next to its baseball field, and to the Wheeling Park Commission to build a boardwalk at the Good Zoo.

Additionally, the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy has built docks using the product, and CONSOL Innovations constructed a deck outside its building on the Touchstone campus out of the material.

“I’m just reaching out to community members to see if anyone is interested in buying it,” Olson said.

There are two main types of plastic-composite decking, he said. The first is a wood fibre plastic composite that is made from food fibre and polyethylene. The second is PVC foam.

“That’s the kind of product we are making except we are putting coal into it,” he explained. “We actually make a PVC-coal composite.”

The result is a decking believed to be stronger and “somewhat stiffer” than conventional PVC component boards.

“So, we have engineered some benefits,” Olson added.

The plan is to fully commercialize and market the decking product in 2026.

“It’s an innovative product,” Olson said. “So the coal we are putting into the body is actually waste coal fines. These are the fines that are too small to go into power generation.”

The result is a decking that should be competitive with other similar decking products, he added.

Those interested in obtaining some of the product should contact Olson at Consol Innovations in Triadelphia at 304-907-2501.