Rubber Mulch: Making Playgrounds Eco-Friendly

The entire green revolution is aimed at providing a safer, cleaner world for our children and future generations. What better place to use eco-friendly products that in playgrounds, areas which cater exclusively to children? Rubber mulch is the up and coming playground flooring alternative that is making a presence in playgrounds around the world. Rubber mulch has many uses; for playgrounds, horse arenas, and landscaping and gardening.

Eco Rubber Mulch

The traditional playgrounds of old were built on grass, blacktop, or wood chips. The newer rubber mulch is made of waste tire buffing or whole tires that are ground up into either nuggets or shavings. Virtually any tires can be used to produce rubber mulch. The process of recycling the tires saves an enormous amount of space in landfills. It has also taken the place of wood chips, dramatically cutting down the amount of forests that are destroyed in order to supply wood chip flooring.

The biggest proof of the benefit rubber mulch has on the environment is the endorsement it has received from the Environmental Protection Agency. In August through October 2008, the EPA conducted a study that sampled the air and surface at four playgrounds that used the derivatives of rubber tires. The conclusion was that the concentration of materials used in rubber mulch was below a level considered harmful, and that it could safely be used in playgrounds or any appropriate area. Other studies by reputable organizations came to the same conclusion: rubber mulch is a safe and eco-friendly flooring alternative.

The naysayers have very little to go with, arguing that the mulch may leach chemicals to plants, and that it is a hazard to playground safety if ignited. However, wood chips are also flammable. As to the reasonable objection that rubber chips are more expensive than other flooring choices, rubber mulch requires virtually no maintenance, and can last for years. It quickly pays for itself.

The benefits of rubber flooring easily outweigh the cons. From a landscaping and gardening viewpoint, rubber mulch insulates soil from heat by two or three degrees more than wood chips. As rubber is not porous, rain water flows more easily to plant roots, as opposed to wood chips, which absorb some of the water along the way. Its high shock absorbance also makes playgrounds safer for children, reducing the amount and severity of injury from falls. In the same vein, rubber mulch is a safer choice for horse arenas, where it is mixed with sand.

The growing use of rubber mulch is helping to reduce the carbon imprint as tires are recycled, rather than thrown into landfills. The options it opens are expansive, as manufacturers race to experiment with more ways in which rubber mulch can be used, thereby opening up a brighter vision for tomorrow’s generation.

Bio: Fay Rose is a go green activist who is interested in anything green and child related. She recommends rubber mulch for personal and commercial playgrounds.