A parent who wanted to install an enriching play area for their kids narrowly avoided the frustration of dealing with one of landscaping's most hated materials.
They posted in the subreddit r/Landscaping before building to ask for advice: "I have never used rubber mulch. Was looking for feedback on how well it works for a kid's play set area?"
While they may have expected practical tips on how to buy and install the mulch, they encountered a resounding declaration against the material instead.
"It is abundantly clear from the scientific literature that rubber should not be used as a landscape amendment or mulch," one person wrote. "There is no question that toxic substances leach from rubber as it degrades, contaminating the soil, landscape plants, and associated aquatic systems." (Or, as another more succinct commenter phrased it: "It sucks and is bad for the environment.")
Rubber mulch physically resembles natural mulch, but that's where the similarities end.
Made of chopped strips of used car tires, rubber mulch is chock-full of chemicals. These include heavy metals and other hazardous ingredients that are known health hazards to humans, according to Washington State University expert horticulturist Linda Chalker-Scott. Over time, as they sit on the ground, those tires continue to break down, releasing those chemicals into the soil, the air, the water, and the surroundings.
And the higher the levels of chemicals in the environment, the more that people are exposed to it are at risk for respiratory illness, heart issues, developmental concerns, reproductive function, and cancer issues, per the Yale School of the Environment.
Moreover, beyond the dire health threats, there are purely unappealing aspects. "Smells nasty in the sun," one person mentioned. (In fact, the old tires break down and release chemicals more quickly in the sun, according to research published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.)
"It's gross," another person said.
Instead, a parent looking to install a play area would be better off using safe, low-maintenance natural ground-cover options such as clover, ferns, and local native plants and wildflowers. For those who don't want to use plants, nontoxic options include wood chips, gravel, and jute fabric.
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