Is Rubber Mulch In Your Future?

Over the years, customers have purchased rubber mulch from local big box stores or online and have asked us to install it for them.    

Frankly, I didn't like it.  I found the product to be cheap, full of tire metal, void of 'natural' and lasting color, and too light weight to be sustainable in the landscape.  The fact is, if we installed on a windy day, the mulch would literally blow away!  No joke!

However, I'm not immune, nor am I lost on environmental stewardship.  After many samples and many years researching the various rubber mulch manufacturers, I found a rubber mulch that I would put my name behind. 

It's no secret that we sell rubber mulch.  This isn't a blog to promote that company or to sell more rubber mulch.  Rather, this blog is to outline the benefits of rubber mulch and its positive impact on the environment and the out of box thinking that comes with using 'what you got!' 

The picture I've attached to this blog was taken yesterday in Pennsylvania.  I had a large rubber mulch order and rather than have the product shipped directly to our warehouse, I wanted - NEEDED - to satisfy my own curiosity about how this product is different from the other products on the market.  I wanted to see from start to finish the process of taking used TIRES and creating something usable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.  So, I drove to PA to satiate my environmental palate.

Rubber mulch is derived 100% from used tires and is not only used to enhance landscaping, but also to provide a safe foundation for children's play areas, indoor and outdoor horse arenas, drainage and septic aggregate, floor mats, and Fuel - TDF (Tire Derived Fuel).  The entire tire is recycled!  Even the metal! 

Rubber mulch is in our future.  It very well may be the future.    It is here and it is now.  Here's why:

1. Everlast Rubber Mulch is not sold in the big box stores!
2. Heavier, doesn't blow away, yet lightweight saving on labor.
3. The color is "baked" into the mulch (a patented process) rather than sprayed on resulting in a minimum 5 year colorfast warranty if used to enhance the landscape.
4. If used in the landscape, it is natural in appearance.  The darn stuff actually looks like mulch!
5. If used as an aggregate for drainage, it promotes natural leaching and is four times lighter than stone aggregate!  It allows for better water flow since it is 30% more void than stone (meaning, the spacing between the material).
6. If used as an aggregate for septic, it is superior to stone for Biomat formation and microbiology for septic.
7. Zero adverse effects on plants, trees, shrubs, soil, children or pets.
8. If used as a playground material, it is #1 in shock absorbency when compared to pea gravel, wood mulch, bark mulch, uniform wood chips, fine gravel, sand, packed dirt, or asphalt.
9. If used in an equestrian arena, it has superior surface drainage, provides uniform cover, reduces dust, and is shock absorbent - less stress on the horse equals more training time.
10. Bottom line.  Rubber aggregate is cost effective.