Archive for the ‘Rubber’ Category

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New York City Wants People to Recycle in Public

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

New York City hopes to pass legislation to put more recycling bins in public places. The reasoning is that people want more opportunities to recycle and adding more bins will encourage it. There are already about 300 bins in city public spaces, including at public schools and agencies. They want to add a lot more and also create a textile recycling program.

As part of the effort, they want to educate people on recycling and add other programs to help.  An educational campaign would include recycling workshops and guides to residential recycling. With all of the tourists and attractions, this would be great for the country.

I thought of something. Maybe New York City could try adding music to recycling bins. Or, perhaps encourage new jobs by giving incentives to the recycling industry like Philadelphia has.

What do you think? Is this a good idea? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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A Creative Way to Get People to Recycle

Monday, May 17th, 2010

I couldn’t pass up this story about recycling. It comes from Canada.  I guess people are just not motivated to recycle there so the city of Edmonton decided to jazz things up and drum up some response.

They are installing motion detectors on recycling bins so when you open the lid it plays a song. Not just any song, but a sad song. Recycling bins that try to guilt you into recycling. The idea is encourage people not to put the wrong things in the bins (a common problem everywhere).

Here are some other cities who see the value of recycling:

I’m not sure who would approve this in lean times but the city is spending $160,000 on what they call the “blue bin blues” campaign. What’s sort of sweet is how the tunes are being sung by a local musician. So hopefully he’s getting paid royalties. It costs them about $10 a recycling bin.

Maybe next they can hold a contest for local artists to paint motivational messages or themes on the bins. Or do wraps. Or hold contests between apartment buildings. And post it all on Facebook.

They are targeting people who live in apartments and condos because the number of people who recycle from that group recently dropped to 80% from 90%. A 10% drop, but still not bad! I think they could do something better – economic incentives. If you save money, get a bonus or otherwise reward behaviors I believe it’ll be more effective. However, if it’s publicity they want then this should do the trick!

The campaign runs until the end of June.

At Rubberecycle we recycle tires and turn them into rubber mulch and play ground surfaces. Our rubber mulch doesn’t play music but people have been known to sing out loud when they first experience how soft the surface is.

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Pennsylvania Recycling Industry Provides Needed Jobs

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

Recycling programs are responsible for 80,000 jobs in Pennsylvania. The state has 1,600 municipal recycling programs. So Governor Edward G. Rendell has signed a bill to support the state’s economy by keeping valuable recycling programs.

The programs give manufacturers in the state raw materials to work with. The programs are funded by a “tipping fee” of $2 per ton on all waste managed at municipal waste landfills and resource recovery facilities in the state. This adds over $35 million a year for  recycling program.

It also saves the state in disposal costs and creates revenue – something that states need in this economy. The recycling industry in Pennsylvania also has a yearly payroll of more than $2 billion.

There is also a $1.25 million transfer from the recycling fund to clean up tire piles. Tires could also be recycled into products like rubber mulch and landscaping products.

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North Carolina Construction Company Gets Grant to Reduce Air Pollution

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Sunland Builders in North Carolina tries to do their part on construction jobs by recycling wood, metal and cement. Now they can do even more with a new grant they’ll upgrade their backhoe so it produces less air pollution.

They got the grant money through the N.C. Clean Construction Leading to Early Adoption Diesel Emission Reductions program. It comes through the EPA. Sunland received $16,125 or about 25% of what it costs to get the new equipment.

The incentives help in this economy that’s been tough on builders. Most use equipment that is 10-20 years old. Construction equipment contributes about 18% of the nitrogen oxides, 16% of the volatile organic compounds, and 5% of the fine particle pollution in North Carolina.

These are elements that create ozone and contribute to bad air quality – esp. in the summer.

See http://www.jdnews.com/articles/span-78144-style-color.html for more information

Rubberecycle recognizes companies who do their part to recycle. We recycle tires into useable products such as rubber mulch surfaces used on playgrounds and for other purposes.

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Company Helps People Buy & Sell Used Motor Oil

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

Now it’s too bad I’m not referring to the oil slick from the Gulf of Mexico but now you can buy or sell used motor oil. The oil there wasn’t used, it was new. The online marketplace to buy/sell used motor oil was created by Recycle Markets of Mount Ida, Arkansas. Interesting, it’s not environmental concerns as much as economics that drives this engine. Instead, they want to help used oil generators understand the right price they should be asking for their oil. The price for used oil fluctuates a lot.

“Used oil has value, but that value can vary widely based on the quality of the used oil, the quantity available and where the used oil generator is located. In many cases, the generator has to rely on the service truck to establish a price. That price may or may not reflect accurate market conditions.”

Check it out the used oil stock market of sorts at www.usedoilmarket.com

It’s free to register – sort of like eBay you pay fees when you sell. But unlike eBay it is not an auction. Great efforts to reuse, reduce and recycle.

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Nevada Opens First Tire Recycling Plant

Monday, April 5th, 2010
Official seal of Las Vegas
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I’m in Las Vegas on vacation, so this story caught my eye. Nevada residents have sent about 2 million used tires each year to landfills. Now those tires can be recycled. A new state-of-the-art recycling plant opened in Las Vegas this past December.

The facility takes tires from Nevada and parts of Utah, Arizona and California. Phoenix Recycling Technologies said, “we’re producing commodities from the waste. For each ton we produce, it lowers the environmental impact of producing new materials.”

The end product produced is called “crumb rubber,” and is used as turf dressing on natural grass and on artificial playing surfaces. It’s also an ingredient for rubberized asphalt for roads, material for equestrian arenas (it reduces damage to a horse’s bones, joints, ligaments and soft tissue) and for playground surfaces (imagine what it can do to help children by avoiding injuries).

Other benefits for playgrounds include that the material will hold its color, last longer than other compounds and won’t cause splinters, attract insects or animals, or stain clothing.

Crumb rubber also can be used as a landscape mulch.

“All parts of the tire are recycled with 65 percent returned as crumb rubber, 25 percent scrap steel and 10 percent fiber.”

The company worked with Nevada state Sen. Allison Copening, D-Las Vegas, who introduced legislation to encourage tires to be recycled and ban their disposal in most of the state’s landfills. The legislation doesn’t require recycling in rural areas and bans dumping whole tires in municipal landfills.

While the cost may be higher up front, the recycled tire surfaces are a good value because they last. “Although crumb rubber blends often are more expensive than conventional asphalt, Copening said the durability of the finished product could make it worth writing into construction specifications.”

Source: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr/02/states-first-tire-recycling-plant-opens/

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Posted in Mulch, Rubber, playground surfacing | 2 Comments »

Pittsburgh Understands the Value of Recycling

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
International Recycling Symbol {{validSVG}}

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I ran across this article about Pittsburgh’s manufacturing sector and how they use recycling. Here’s an interesting fact: ‘73 percent of the aluminum ever produced is still in use today.’

Steel is recycled more, by volume, than any other material and both were recycled in Pittsburgh not so much for the environmental benefits, but for the cost benefits. That’s not unusual. It’s cheaper to melt down old products to make new products than it was to go out and mine the raw materials. If you’ve ever been to a junk yard, that’s the beginning of the reuse, recycle industry.

Cars, refrigerators, washing machines and even parts of Three Rivers Stadium have been used to build buildings and bridges across the country.

Did you know that can of pop in  an aluminum can be sold and back on the shelf as a new can in 60 days?

There’s also a company that freezes rubber to make it brittle. Then they smash the tires to tiny bits. This material is used for synthetic athletic fields, playground surfaces, mulch, horse arena surfaces, etc. Some of the tires are ground up. Interestingly, the rubber mulch is also good for roads because it makes them quieter, more resilient and safer.

It’s inspiring to see the industries who are recycling and building that into the process. They’re saving money and contributing to the health of our planet. RubbeRecycle’s reaction? Nice work Pittsburgh!

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10075/1042930-334.stm?cmpid=business.xml#ixzz0j7F1230R

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Posted in Rubber, playground surfacing | 4 Comments »

Go Green this St. Patrick’s Day

Monday, March 15th, 2010
Green fountain in front of the White House on ...
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In just two days it will be St. Patrick’s Day – a day to go green! I know that most of you probably don’t think about recycling and environmental issues for this holiday – but that’s how we at Rubberecycle look at it. Did you know that the original color associated with Saint Patrick was not green, but blue? Those are our colors today. The day is celebrated on March 17 – in two days.

All around the country there are parades planned and many cities dye their fountains or rivers green. Schoolchildren pinch each other. People decorate with shamrocks. However, what I think is also important is to think about the impact we have on this earth. Are we using our resources wisely? Are we doing what we can to cut down on waste and reusing what we can?

Rubberecycle starts with 100% recycled scrap tires that would otherwise end up in a landfill. We use the recycled material to makes products that are safe and ideal for recreational surfaces and landscaping. The White House used recycled tire mulch for their playground and many others have too. Like most activities this is an investment for the long term, not a short-term solution. With our lifetime guarantee, you should never have to use another surface.

So in between all the parties and fun we hope you’ll associate St. Patrick’s Day with going green. Next month there are two holidays specifically for those causes. I’ll cover them soon. In the meantime, try not to get pinched!

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Posted in Playground safety, Rubber | 1 Comment »

7 PlayGround Safety Tips

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

When you purchase playgrounds or any type of playground equipment, ensure the pieces meet the safety standards and will ensure your children are completely safe at all times.

Reputable companies or manufacturers will be able to provide you with all the correct specifications required to ensure the playground equipment is well within the safety standards.

Also, reputable companies or manufacturers will be able to provide you with satisfactory answers to any questions you may have regarding the safety of their products.

You can follow these simple safety tips, when you are ready to purchase playground equipment:

1.  Install correctly all equipment. Regardless of  how safe the playground equipment manufacturer claims it to be.  If you are installing the equipment yourself, ensure that the equipment is firmly secured to the ground.

2.  Every year, hundreds of children are injured on the playground due to falls. Although the playground equipment may be completely safe and correctly installed, children are still capable of falling, tripping, or tumbling onto the ground. Instead of allowing your tots to fall on a hard concrete surface or even the slightly softer grass, install a soft surface. These shock absorbing surfaces include shredded rubber, rubber bond, special safety playsafer rubber mats or mulch from Rubberecycle can make the difference in a trip to the emergency room and a minor fall.

3.  Be sure to choose equipment that is appropriate and recommended by the EPA, choose age appropriate equipment and sizes of your children. If you have several different children in a wide range of ages, consider dedicating different parts of the playground to each child. Also, consider choosing pieces that can be upgraded as the child ages, such as swings or rings. Ensuring that the playground surfaces are appropriate like rubber mulch, playsafer rubber bond or Rubberecycle wear mats and rubber curbs that will prevent accidents from occurring.

4.  Cover hardware and all playground equipment that  has sharp, pointy, or hard aspects that are essential in the assembly of the play area. Choose playground supplies with covers that will ensure little ones are not cut or injured on this hardware. This is especially essential when it comes to the s-hooks and chains that attach swings, rings, bars, and other suspended elements.

5.  Constant supervision. The best way to ensure safety on any playground equipment is to properly supervise any children while playing. Just as you would watch your kids playing in the park playgrounds, the same safety precautions should be taken in your own backyard playground.

6. Regardless if you have a metal set or a wooden set, most playground swing sets comes with some type of paint or protective coating. Check the makeup of the paint or sealant to ensure the safety. Furthermore, some types of pressure treated wood contains creosote or other chemicals.

7. Most playground swing sets  has a ladder of some sort. Ensure the child cannot become trapped between the ladder and the guardrails or between the rungs. This is critical to prevent children from becoming stuck or seriously injured. Be sure that spaces between guard rails or between runs should be less than 3.5 inches or greater than nine inches.

Let our kids have fun the safe way.

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Posted in Playground safety, Rubber, playground surfacing | 1 Comment »

Use Rubber Mulch: Make Playgrounds safer

Friday, February 5th, 2010

As caring parents it is your responsibility to look after the safety of your kids. You must be aware of the fact that kids suffer maximum injuries on the playgrounds because of lack of safety measures. Therefore it is very important to provide the kids safe play areas.

If you cover the kids’ play area with rubber mulch, it can provide safe and secure playground or play area for your kids. Rubber mulch is made from used rubber that has been reprocessed. One can use the rubber mulch for the children’s play area or for personal use in backyard or private garden. You can even landscape your garden and backyard using rubber mulch and make your kids’ play area more colorful.

Here are some advantages of rubber mulch:

  • If the kids fall down on the rubber mulch while playing they will bounce off it and will not injure themselves severely.
  • Its durability makes it long lasting.
  • It cannot blow away in the storm.
  • It cannot melt or rot, therefore will not smell.
  • It does not catch dust
  • It does not be a magnet for insects.
  • It comes in different colors.

Children’s safety is always a matter of concern for each and every parent. Rubber mulch used to cover the play area will certainly lessen your worries about your kids’ safety on playgrounds. Rubber mulch is very commonly and widely used in the children’s play area for its safety providing character.

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