When people ask about the urban outdoor furniture carbon footprint, I usually say there is no single number—it depends a lot on the material, manufacturing process, transport distance, maintenance, and what happens at end of life. For typical city furniture such as benches, litter bins, bollards, tables, and chairs, a reasonable planning estimate is roughly 20–200 kg CO2e per item on a cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-grave basis, with heavier cast-metal or concrete pieces sometimes going above that range.
A simple certified timber bench with galvanised steel legs might sit around 30–80 kg CO2e. A recycled-plastic bench might be around 40–100 kg. A robust steel-and-aluminium bench could be 80–200 kg, while a heavy concrete or cast-metal piece can exceed 200 kg. The biggest drivers are material choice, recycled content, manufacturing energy, surface coating, transport weight and distance, maintenance, and how often the item is replaced.
If you are choosing sustainable public furniture, the practical steps are fairly clear: specify durable low-carbon materials, use recycled materials where they make sense, prefer recycled aluminium or steel, consider low-carbon concrete, choose certified timber, buy from local suppliers, design for repair and disassembly, and avoid overbuilding. It also helps to compare street furniture emissions per year of service, not just per item. A lifecycle assessment is the best way to make a fair comparison, but even a rough carbon estimate can steer decisions in the right direction.