RECYCLED RUBBER: A WIN FOR COMMUNITIES,
THE ECONOMY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Using recycled rubber in a variety of products has become a popular choice for reasons such as safety and

accessibility and in many cases, it replaces a less environmentally friendly alternative.

Creating A Cleaner Environment

Eighty percent of tires are recycled and reused annually, preventing millions of scrap tires from being dumped in landfills, lakes, abandoned lots, and along the side of the road. Instead, these tires take on another life as playground equipment, nursing home floors—even the soles of shoes.

Building Safe Communities

From school playgrounds to community tennis courts, recycled rubber provides a shock-absorbent material that helps cushion falls and spills. Compared to grass fields, the shock absorbency provided by multiple layers of crumb rubber infill in synthetic turf fields protects athletes from accruing significant surface impact injuries, including concussions.

Moreover, recycled rubber surfaces can be designed to be widely usable, accessible, and ADA-compliant—a feature that grass and other industrial surfaces lack. Recycled rubber's durability and resiliency makes it a great choice for use in commercial settings and hospitals. It's water resistance, so it can't be damaged by spills or moisture and its high degree of surface friction make it slip resistant, which is especially useful for healthcare and nursing facilities.

Recycled rubber is a scientifically-proven safe material. More than 90 technical studies on the various applications for recycled rubber have concluded there are no significant health risks.

Supporting Local Economics

Thanks to its durability, crumb rubber is a better value product for people and communities across America. The cost of installing and maintaining a synthetic turf field is three times less expensive than the cost of a grass field over the same period of time. The rubber recycling industry also boosts local economies and creates manufacturing jobs.

Have a look at just how versatile recycled rubber can be:

Playground safety surfacing – many communities are moving from the traditional pea gravel and wood chips to recycled rubber surfaces, choosing either pour-in-place or tile applications.
Recreational flooring – examples of this type of flooring can be found in ice skating arenas, fitness rooms and high traffic areas.
Home gym mats have also become a popular choice and you can buy them direct from the manufacturer, North West Rubber based in Abbotsford.
Truck bed liners – another product made by North West Rubber is truck bed liners. Their “Black Armour” line of products can also be bought direct.
Animal mats – for comfort from the ground up, these mats are used in cow and horse barns and trailers.
Coloured landscaping mulch – this is a new product being made in BC that is becoming popular across North America as a replacement for wood mulch and chips.

The benefits of recycled rubber vs. other materials:

Accessibility – for playgrounds, the traditional surfacing of wood chips or pea gravel limits access for those with physical disabilities. Using recycled rubber for pour-in-place or tiled surfaces, makes playgrounds become fully accessible allowing people of all ages and abilities to experience the joy of physical activity. For sports fields, using artificial turf means they become all-weather fields opening them up for all types of play.
Safety – fall height standards are set by The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) for playground surfaces to reduce the risk of personal injury due to falls from playground equipment. Rubber pour-in-place and tile surfaces are designed to meet or exceed CSA standards.
Maintenance – in the case of mulch for landscaping, maintenance is reduced as coloured rubber mulch, unlike wood chips, will not fade or blow away.
Environmental – reduced water consumption and pesticide usage are key benefits of using recycled rubber in landscaping applications.

Sourcing locally makes sense for many reasons:

Reduces the carbon footprint by avoiding GHG emissions in transportation and new production.
Supports local recycling.
Creates jobs locally.
Aligns with the government’s green procurement policy.
May qualify for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits.
May qualify for a Community Grant.