This alternative to pressure treated wood is surprisingly sustainable. The decking market offers dealers and contractors a clear opportunity that is growing in a number of ways. First is market size: The Cleveland-based Freedonia Group says that decking is expected to grow by about 20 
percent annually to become a 3.6-billion-lineal-foot industry by 2011. Secondly, the decking market is growing in sophistication. Decking contractors are no longer banging galvy 10d nails in CCA #2 southern yellow pine, as we did in the 1980s. Today decks are part of so-called outdoor living space, and that has even developed into a designer specialty.
For dealers and contractors alike, decks and deck building material offer good-margin, low-maintenance products to customers, who are increasingly willing to pay premiums for products that they will proudly display in high-profile areas of their homes. Today, although decking is still a product that most general-contractors offer, you are seeing an increased number of specialty deck-only operations, and there is a great opportunity for dealers to cater to them.
Decking in the broadest sense of the word now includes four category of products: All-plastic decking, Wood, Composites, and—increasingly uncommon—Aluminum.
The all-plastic decking products are different from “composite decking,” which contains plastic and fiber (more on that below), and plastic decking breaks down into sub-categories by differentiating themselves from one another by the source and type of plastic, and sometimes by the plastic’s recyclability. The most popular choices of deck plastics break out into five categories:
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Common HDPE (#2, milk jugs);
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Recycled high-density polyethylene plastic (ReHDPE);
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Polypropylene (think Tupperware);
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Solid polyvinyl chloride a.k.a. PVC;
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Cellular PVC (polyvinyl chloride with a foaming agent).
(It important to know the difference between the types of plastic, because they are also used in composite decking material.)
With so many kinds of plastic, manufactures of all-plastic decks will point out differences in the plastics they use, especially where the plastics come from. Marketers of decking 
will take great pride in features like “virgin plastic,” or a high percentage of “post consumer resins” (PCR), and even “100% recyclable.” Also, since plastic decking can be manufactured through extrusion (that is, product that is pushed through a mould), even the speed of extrusion can be a selling factor, because a product that is extruded too quickly is considered poorer quality.
Whether you are dealing with all-plastic decking or composites, HDPE is the most commonly used product. It performs very well in most situations, and expands only along its length, like vinyl siding. Plus, it does not swell, as many lumber products will. Manufactures argue that it retains color well. Plus, the all-plastic product is entirely recyclable.
Another product, all-plastic PVC decking generally has resistance to scratching, staining, and fading that is superior to composite decking. But PVC decking has been getting slammed for the toxicity of the manufacturing process, which can release mercury and dioxin. That said, there is a green case to be made for PVC’s performance and durability, and it goes like this: If you use PVC (in all-plastic or composite products), you are less likely to harvest, manufacture, and ship replacement products, which therefore makes PVC a viable alternative to wood. What’s greener: a 30-year plastic or PVC deck…or a wood deck that has to harvested, shipped, installed and shoveled into the landfill three times in those three decades?
Now, on to composite decking. It’s called composite or synthetic decking because it has more than one component, and this class of decking has some characteristics of wood and some of plastic. Most composite wood decking is created when wood is added to plastic resin (usually polyethylene). Since the properties of composite decking vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, marketers will differentiate their products using various metrics or features, most notably:
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The source of their plastics (“post-consumer” is considered greener),
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The percent of recycled plastic (for those who want to use recycled products),
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The percent of virgin plastic (for those who don’t want to use recycled plastics because of perceived quality issues),
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The source of the non-plastic components used (recovered wood is the greenest alternative),
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The quality of the post-consumer resin used in the plastic (you don’t want chopped-up milk and vitamin labels in the deck boards),
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The color-fast properties of the decking (fading is so common among some it’s sometimes called a “mellowing process”),
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The surface feel and slip-resistance,
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The structural performance of the product (look for 16 o-c span-ability),
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The UV-protection the decking (anything to frustrate the sun’s punishing rays), and
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The deck board’s weight per board food (for transportation, easy handling during installation, and span loading).
For a good composite example, let’s look at a popular product and see how it presents itself in 
these categories. Latitudes composite wood decking is made with both recycled and virgin polyethylene, and 100% of the wood additive is reclaimed product. Indeed, Latitudes is made from approximately 70% recycled materials. It’s “barefoot friendly,” slip-resistant, and reversible with a brushed finish on one side, and a wood grain look on the other, so you can choose look-and-feel. Latitudes comes in six colors—gray, cedar, redwood and walnut, and the specialty colors of Koa 
and Adobe in the tropical wood-look Latitudes Capricorn composite decking.
No matter what composite deck boards you're looking for, be sure they can span 16-o.c. joists, and that they comply with the all the crucial codes and standards. Look for a warranty of at least 10 years, and it should cover splintering, corrosion, as well as rot, warp, cupping, checks, or damage caused by termites or fungal decay. And finally, urge your customers to purchase premium products, for their own sake. If they always use low cost as the ultimate metric of value, they risk their reputations, as well as the prospect for annoying callbacks that are hard to solve without painful and costly tear-outs.
position to invest in ambitious renovations, such as a kitchen remodel or new hardwood floors, the best advice is to look to the "bonus" spaces in and around your home and maximize their appeal.
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