Rubber Mulch is Great for Children’s Playgrounds!

Best Rubber Mulch for Playgrounds Has Roughly Twice the Cushioning Effect of Other Non-Rubber Materials! We specialize in bulk pricing for ALL Playgrounds! CALL US TOLL FREE AT: 877-269-6208 Best Rubber Mulch for Playgrounds is all 99.9% Wire Free and ADA Approved! Advantages of Wire-Free Rubber Mulch for Playgrounds:

Clean and non-toxic
Does not produce toxic leaching
Resilient
Does not attract or maintain moisture Economical, lasts for years
Reduces dust and mud around playing area
Does not attract cats, dogs, rodents or insects
Will not rot or decay
Not susceptible to reduced performance due to rainy weather or freezing temperatures

Critical Heights for a 6 Inch Uncompressed Layer* for playground surfaces.
*According to the testing criteria, the higher the height, the safer the material.

Wood Mulch
Fine Sand
Medium Gravel
Rubber Chips

5 feet
5 feet
7 feet
12 feet

Rubber shreds/chip data from the Illinois Department of Energy & Natural Resources. Measured in accordance with ASTM F12-93 and ASTM F355-86. Data on other materials from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC Document 1005.

Playground Installation Specifications

Proper Playground Equipment Placement

The use zone for each piece of equipment is made up of two parts:

The Fall Zone: an area under and around the equipment where protective surfacing is required.
The No-Encroachment Zone: an additional area beyond the fall zone where children using the equipment can be expected to move about and should have no encroaching obstacles.

With the exception of spring rocking equipment, equipment under 24 inches in height, and the zone between adjacent swings (see below), the fall zones of adjacent pieces of equipment should not overlap. However, adjacent pieces of equipment may share a single no-encroachment zone.

Regardless of the type of equipment, the use zone should be free of obstacles that children could run into or fall on top of and thus be injured. For example, there should not be any vertical posts or other objects protruding from the ground onto which a child may fall.

Recommendations for Fall Zone

Stationary Equipment
The fall zone should extend a minimum of 6 feet in all directions from the perimeter of the equipment.
Slides
The fall zone in front of the access and to the sides of a slide shall extend a minimum of 6 feet from the perimeter of the equipment. Note: This does not apply to embankment slides. The fall zone in front of the exit of a slide shall extend a minimum distance of 6 feet from the end of the slide chute or for a distance of H + 4 feet whichever is the greater. H is the height of the slide platform and the H + 4 foot measurement is made from a point on the slide chute where the gradient has been reduced to 5° from the horizontal.

Single Axis Swings
Because children may deliberately attempt to exit from a single axis swing while it is in motion, the fall zone in front of and behind the swing should be greater than to the sides of such a swing. It is recommended that the fall zone extend to the front and rear of a single axis swing a minimum distance of 2 times the height of the pivot point above the surfacing material measured from a point directly beneath the pivot on the supporting structure. The fall zone to the sides of a single axis swing should follow the general recommendation and extend a minimum of 6 feet from the perimeter of the swing structure in accordance with the general recommendation for fall zones. This 6 foot zone may overlap that of an adjacent swing structure.

Multi Axis Swings
The fall zone should extend in any direction from a point directly beneath the pivot point for a minimum distance of 6 feet + the length of the suspending members. In addition, the fall zone shall extend a minimum of 6 feet from the perimeter of the supporting structure. This 6 foot zone may overlap that of an adjacent swing structure.

Merry-Go-Rounds
The fall zone should extend 6 feet beyond the perimeter of the platform.

Spring Rocking Equipment
The fall zone should extend a minimum of 6 feet from the "at rest" perimeter of the equipment but adjacent spring rockers with a maximum seat height of 24 inches may share the same fall zone.

Composite Equipment
The above recommendations for individual pieces of equipment should be used as a guide in establishing the fall zones around pieces of composite playground equipment. Note that in Section 9.2.2 it was recommended that single axis swings not be a part of a composite structure.

Recommendations for No-Encroachment Zone
No specific dimensions can be recommended for the no-encroachment zone around individual pieces of playground equipment. These dimensions will vary according to the types of adjacent pieces of equipment and their orientation with respect to one another.

For example, the recommended fall zone at the side of both a slide and a swing is 6 feet. Since fall zones should not overlap (with the exception of certain adjacent spring rockers), a slide could be placed with its side no closer than 12 feet to the side of a swing. Therefore, there may be no need to add an additional no-encroachment zone. Conversely, it would not be desirable to have a slide exit facing the front or rear of single axis swing.

No-encroachment zones extending beyond the fall zones are recommended for moving equipment or equipment from which the child is in motion as he or she exits. This allows more space for children to regain their balance upon exiting the equipment and also provides added protection against other children running into a moving part.

For a single axis swing, it is recommended that there be a barrier beyond the fall zone in front of the swing if it is located in a playground facing other pieces of equipment.

Information Source:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/327.html visit the CPSC site at this link for more information.

Playground Safety

This article is a excerpt from the "Handbook for Public Playground Safety", Pub. No. 325 U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC20207.

According to the Mayo Clinic (Mayo Health O@sis, May, 1998), about 70 percent of playground injuries are results of falls. To minimize injuries from trips and falls, especially falls from equipment, playgrounds are being equipped with shock absorbing surfaces under and around equipment. While various materials provide shock protection, some of the most protective surfaces are being provided by scrap rubber derived materials (Rubber Mulch).

Critical Heights for a 6 Inch Uncompressed Layer* for playground surfaces.

According to the testing criteria, the higher the height, the safer the material.
Wood Mulch 5 feet
Fine Sand 5 feet
Medium Gravel 7 feet
Rubber Chips 12 feet

Additional Information:
For further information on playground safety, contact the Consumers Product Safety Commission Washington. DC 20207; http://www.cpsc.gov. We suggest obtaining their publication on Playground Surfacing Materials, CPSC Document #1005. The STMC is not-for-profit, advocacy organization, founded and supported by the United States based rubber manufacturers. The Council is part of the Rubber Manufacturers Association, the trade association representing the United States rubberindustry.The Council’s primary function is to assist in the promotion and development of environmental sound and cost efficient markets for the scrap rubber generated in the United States.

What if a Child Swallows a Rubber Chip?
In 1994 the Maryland Environmental Services (MES) put this question to a series of tests. At the MES request, a testing laboratory subjected 3/4 inch pieces of rubber chips to hydrochloric acid (stomach acid). "Visual examination of insoluble residue appeared to indicate only fibrous reinforcing strands were dissolved by the hydrochloric acid. The tire rubber did not appear to be affected in any way; i.e. chalking, cracking, spauling, fracturing, etc." (PSI report No. 486-40013-001). What does this mean? If a piece of rubber is swallowed, it should not cause any acute or chronic problems. Short-term issues, such as an upset stomach will be a function of the amount of rubber swallowed. As to the fate of the rubber chips swallowed, they are eventually evacuated from the body, just like any other non-digestible material.

What is ADA Compliant
ADA compliant-Has been certified by a testing facility for wheelchair accessibility. Some of our mulch manufactures have ADA compliant material others do not. If you are seeking grant monies you may be required to have ADA certified mulch. If you do not need wheel chair accessibility any of our mulches will meet ASTM safety standards.

ADA Standards -Rubber mulch provides superior shock absorption well within the established ASTM criteria and the environment becomes ADA compliant when a handicap accessible walkway is installed between the handicap parking area and the equipment transfer station.

This can be accomplished by installing a macadam path from the parking area to the playground perimeter, then installing an ADA compatible walkway to the playground transfer station or ramp. (Keep in mind that you must have a compliant walkway that wheel chairs can navigate through the mulch to the playground equipment.

All of our mulch is playground compliant. As you can see ADA compliant mulch is just one component of being ADA compliant when reading the requirements. Wheel chairs do not have to navigate through the mulch itself according to the wording.

In properly maintained playground applications, rubber mulch will reduce the occurrence of fall injuries. Please note that rubber mulch can only HELP REDUCE injuries from falls not prevent them.