Is Rubber Mulch a Safe Surface for Your Child's Playground?
The public playground in Bandon, a small town on the blustery coast of Oregon, has everything a kid could want. Swings and an orange, twisting slide, even a bright blue boat.
But after the playground was installed in 2009, some mothers became concerned about the springy black stuff beneath their children's feet. In addition to the new equipment, the playground was outfitted with the latest in safety surfacing: a pool of shredded rubber from old tires, also known as "rubber mulch," which can cushion kids' falls better than gravel or wood chips.
Vanesza Farmer said she struggled to keep her daughter -- who was learning to walk at the time -- from putting tire crumbs in her mouth. "My kids would just be tainted in black," she said. "Their clothes would be black. And I just knew, this isn't healthy."
Farmer and a handful of other parents started to research rubber infill, the recycled crumbs and shreds of old tire that in various forms have become an increasingly popular option for cities, schools, and day cares looking for a safe play surface for kids. What they found, they said, launched them on a campaign to replace the rubber.
"We know that there are chemicals in tires, and we know that they are most likely not removed just by shredding and putting them on a playground," said Bandon resident Shayla DeBerry-Osborne, who has four children under the age of 6. "I feel that if we know about these potential risks to our children, it's our responsibility as parents to limit the risk."
