Go Green, Be Friendly To The Enviroment
We hear about it every day: how the use of synthetic materials is destroying the environment, how landfills are rapidly filling to the point of capacity, and how non-biodegradable materials are slowly taking over the planet.
In today’s world of global awareness, recycling has become a rallying cry for the environmentally conscientious. As environmentalists struggle with questions of global proportions, here’s some great news for the general populace: there is an environmentally-friendly solution for at least one non-biodegradable material. And it’s happening right in our playgrounds.
What can be done with all those hundreds of thousands of used car tires that are too worn out for driving, but don’t plan on disintegrating for the next one million years? Believe it or not, used car tires have acquired an all-new identity: they become the all-new, environmentally-friendly playground surfacing—rubber mulch.
Rubber mulch has taken the playground industry by storm. It’s an absolute win-win proposition: old, worn-out tires are turned into the most shock-absorbent, secure, and convenient playground surfacing. Rubber playground mulch is fun, safe, cost-effective, virtually maintenance free, and a fabulous recycling alternative.
The process is simple. Rubber tires are passed under a series of powerful magnets, cleansing them of any steel content. Once the tires are assured to be safe and metal-free, they are shredded into rubber granules, chunks, and nuggets. The finished rubber mulch is then shipped out to playgrounds across the country.
The beauties of the playground rubber mulch solution are fantastic. The shock-absorbent properties of rubber tires are perfect for playgrounds! Rubber mulch easily cushions the falls of children on the playground, reducing playground injury levels dramatically. In fact, studies by the CPSC show that when compared to playground surfacing alternatives such as sand, gravel, wood mulch, and packed dirt, rubber mulch ranks number one in shock-absorbency.
The very fact that vulcanized rubber tires are non-biodegradable serves as one of playground rubber mulch’s biggest advantages. Schools and communities that invest in rubber mulch for their playground surfacing know that they will never have to replace it! Rubber mulch chips are heat and cold resistant, and don’t fade or decay—ever.
Rubber mulch is clean and non-staining to children’s clothing. It is also skid-free, since rubber mulch does not retain water. Finally, rubber mulch is non-toxic, odor-free, and extremely cost-effective.
On a visit to the Rubberecycle plant in Lakewood, NJ, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials were extremely impressed with Playsafer™, the company’s line of rubber mulch. The DEP expressed great enthusiasm for Rubberecycle’s concept of productively recycling non-biodegradable tires that would otherwise have ended up in landfills.
Great for the kids, great for the pocketbook, and great for the environment—what could be better?
