A Utah family is making a business out of recycled plastic barrels. It’s called “Starr High Tree Swings” and they come in all sorts of fun designs. My favorite is the airplane swing.

I can’t find their web site but the article I found has pictures of a bug swing and a bee design. The dad and his son make the swings. Dad Anthony used to work at a landfill and has always had an interest in recycling.

The swings are popular at day cares and in back yards and playgrounds.

Kids sit deep in the barrel and are strapped in with an adjustable safety belt. So it’s pretty safe – they don’t tip so it’s hard for kids to fall out of the swing. The family plans to start a line of sleds next.

We like the creativity – and what good fortune to have a last name like Starr. A good fit for a family that makes imaginative products for kids!

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A mayor in London has an idea to try to recycle and reuse things that would otherwise end up in the trash. If you’ve ever heard of the email group Freecycle, the idea is based on that concept. Basically you can offer things that you don’t want and pick up things others in the group give away. It’s completely free.

The ‘Reuse Network’ is a little different than Freecycle though. It connects people with charities and groups to repair or pass on donations. It will tap into sites like Freegle and Freecycle to collect items. They’ll then store, refurbish and sell “everything from furniture, books, carpets and bikes to cookers and fridges.”

The  mayor believes the effort can divert 1.7mn reusable household items from the landfill. “This will help slash the mountain of waste being sent unnecessarily to landfill and cut the heavy economic costs of doing so.”

Along with that there will be a “reuse hotline” and web site.

The rest of the plan will encourage more plastics and metal recycling as well as food and garden waste composting. We wish they would include increasing tire recycling by encouraging businesses and schools to use rubber mulch products.

Rather than a scheme as the article puts it, this is a good way to cut down on waste. Think it will work? Let’s watch to see.

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Just like with rubber mulch curbing or other products – old rubber tires have been put to good use and recycled. In this story, the recycled tires are going to make the weight room floor matting at a new middle school in Canada.

The project was funded by the Community Demonstration Grant Program.  Stz’uminus Secondary School and matched dollars up to $20,000. The school will be completed in a year.

The weight room’s floor will be made entirely of tires collected and recycled by Tire Stewardship BC. “More than 420,000 pounds recycled crumb rubber, the equivalent of 19,000 tires, will be used in projects.”

The benefits of recycled rubber products include: accessibility for wheelchairs on playground surfaces, better cushioning for joints on athletics tracks, low maintenance and easy upkeep.

We recently wrote about a Study Confirming the Safety of Recycled Rubber for Playgrounds and Athletic Fields. It looks like they made a good choice — hopefully more schools will consider this as a safer, greener and longer lasting gym surface.

See www.tirestewardshipbc.ca for information about the grants.

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If it’s good enough for President Obama, then one Philly town figures it’s good enough for them. That’s what the town said when they replaced their playground dirt with recycled tires. The rubber playground mulch will now provide a safe cushion for the kid’s who play there.

The borough used a community development grant to pay for the rubber mulch. The cost for two playgrounds was $56,434 and is the same surface used at the White House for their playground.

Rubberecycle gave 8 tons of green, recycled tires called Playsafer Rubber Mulch to the White House about a year ago.

The tires used to make the surface are chopped up in a million bits and come in different colors. This particular playground was a blue color.

“We use only tires taken freshly off rims from tire centers. We do not use any that are found along the side of the road or in a landfill. We shred them and recycle the steel and make the mulch,” according to Keith Sacks of Rubberecycle.

The benefits include

• needs no maintenance
• is safer for children who may fall
• non-toxic
• odor-free
• non-staining
• non-abrasive

Borough Mayor Bob Lebo said he’s pleased the council decided to buy the rubber mulch. “I think it’s great. It is much safer for our children and the other benefits certainly will pay off,” he said.

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There have been repeated questions about the safety of rubber mulch for playground cover or synthetic turf fields. That’s despite studies that show no elevated health risks for children or adults due to these surfaces.

Recently another study confirmed this. On July 30, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced a new study of the risks to children and adults playing on synthetic turf fields containing crumb rubber infill also presents no elevated health risks.

This validates conclusions from recent studies done by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other governmental agencies, including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Department of Health, the New York City Department of Health, and the California EPA.

The study provides valuable guidance to municipalities, schools and others who operate or are considering installing artificial playing fields.”

Four state agencies – the University of Connecticut Health Center, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) – collaborated on the study. Nine scientists from the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) were asked to review the study and issue its own report.

Key points from major findings of the study:

• “Outdoor and indoor artificial turf fields are not associated with elevated health risks from the inhalation of volatile or particle bound chemicals.”

• The readings at the indoor field (in a building with a broken exhaust system) showed higher levels of chemical emissions, but, as noted above, below levels of concern. The DEP recommends ventilation of indoor fields.

• The Department of Environmental Protection evaluated the environmental risk associated with storm water runoff from the artificial turf fields tested in the air study. They concluded there is no risk to drinking water from this runoff, but a potential risk exists for surface waters and aquatic organisms.

“In over 40 years of EPA oversight and OSHA regulated manufacturing, there has never been an instance of illness attributed to synthetic turf. This study and numerous others validate the long-term human health and environmental safety of synthetic turf systems,” said Rick Doyle, president of the Synthetic Turf Council.

The Connecticut study can be viewed at www.ct.gov/dep/artificialturf.

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Is your Playground Surface Safe?

A playground in Cambria County has had crews called in once again – and while the playground was safe – there can still be safety problems. Firefighters stopped at Diamod Playground in suburban Johnstown to rescue kids who got stuck and needed help. It illustrates our theme of playground safety.

A young child got wedged in between the tube slide and the slide’s bracing after climbing up the outside of the slide. Fire crews had to pry the child from the equipment. The same story repeated another time when a 9-year-old got stuck in a baby swing.

Wargo said all the playground equipment is up to code on safety inspections and it is only about seven years old. The issue is the parents keeping watch and making sure children use the equipment in safe ways. There were warnings written at the playground.

We urge parents to supervise their children. Encourage them to observe playground safety guidelines.

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There are 8,000 Certified Playground Safety Inspectors (CPSI) worldwide. These are folks who are credentialed to inspect playgrounds for safety issues. They help ensure each playground they inspect is up to current national standards and is done in coordination with the NRPA who offers training courses.

Even if you’re not official, you can look out for unsafe conditions at playgrounds.

Is your Playground Surface Safe? Here are some guidelines to help you find out:

• There should be no missing, broken or worn-out components
• All hardware should be secure
• The wood, metal or plastic should not show signs of fatigue or deterioration
• All parts should be stable with no apparent signs of loosening
• Surfacing material must be maintained
• Check for signs of vandalism

Learn more about the Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) training and certification program

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On Tuesday the 4. 5 million dollar “Imagination Playground” opened in New York. Instead of the usual playground equipment, the playground features large foam movable parts, sand, and water.

The playground is located at Burling Slip and South Street in New York. Like Disneyland its creator David Rockwell is a dad who wanted to build something engaging for his kids.

The problem I imagine with such playgrounds is keeping them from wearing out or walking off. There’s a solution for that (and yes it costs money). There are “play workers” keeping watch. It seems like this type of playground equipment would be ideal for rec centers or day cares. Or even at home in the back yard. It just may get a bit unwieldy for cities to manage. Still, the idea is fun and it looks like they have created plenty of that.

Read more: http://dnainfo.com/20100727/financial-district-battery-park-city/new-seaport-playground-encourages-kids-use-their-imagination#ixzz0uv84Ro82

Here is a sad statistic about America’s playgrounds. That is, that some are not safe. “It is estimated that, each year, more than 200,000 playground-related injuries occur, and approximately 15 children will die as a result of a playground accident.” That is according to the NRPA.

NRPA’s National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI) has identified 12 of the leading causes of injuries on playgrounds. They have what they call “The Dirty Dozen – A Checklist for Safe Playgrounds,” which is a brochure that identifies and discusses the 12 most common safety concerns and leading causes of injuries on playgrounds.

#1 The Playground Surface

Of course this is the issue we focus on the most — is your playground surface safe?

Here’s what they say:
Improper surfacing material under playground equipment is the leading cause of playground-related injuries. Over 79% of all accidents on playgrounds are from children falling.

The surface or ground under/around the playground equipment should be soft enough to
cushion a fall. A fall onto one of these hard surfaces could be life threatening and there are
many surfaces that offer protection from falls.

Good playground surfaces
• Sand / Pea Gravel
• Synthetic / Rubber Tiles
• Shredded Rubber
• Mats
• Poured-in-place rubber

Not good
• Concrete
• Blacktop
• Packed Earth
• Grass

Most loose-fill surfacing must be maintained at a depth of 12 inches and be free of standing water and debris.

Is your playground safe for kids? More of the dirty dozen coming soon…

KaBOOM! a nonprofit that builds playgrounds has a summer challenge to help inspire parents and kids to go to the park. They have chosen 9 parents who take their children to a new park every day this summer, starting July 1. The parents are telling their stories and sharing pictures of their experiences.

Why not take the playground challenge yourself? Go to a different playground each day for a week. Have kids help you make simple scrapbooks with things they learned, did or collected at the playground. Choose your family favorites. Get involved. Most of all help your kids get outside and moving. It’s even good for the grownups.

We like the photo of the dad lying in the shade created by playground equipment to try to stay out of the hot sun (plus the surface is — you guessed it – rubber mulch!)

Source: http://kaboom.org/blog/park_a_day_summer_challenge_week_1

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