Personally, I wouldn't want the stuff because I don't know what all is in it, and probably the easiest way to improve a soil is to add an organic mulch like bark and let it decompose.

That's just me.

I guess I am already blessed b/c I have tons of worms in my garden...wouldn't be happy if the rubber mulch drove them away.

Thanks again and happy gardening!

Some types of latex are more problematic. It hasn't been conclusively determined, but they seem to shed particles that coat nearby surfaces. The kind of stuff in these rubber mulches must be like that, because I start to get a mild, early reaction if I just walk by the stuff at a garden center. I hate it that they've started marketing the stuff.

If we ever move, we wouldn't be able to buy a house where latex mulch was *ever* used, because of the way that it breaks down. And my allergy has just barely progressed to anaphylaxis - lots of people have it worse than me.

Obviously, it's personal for me, but I figure it just plain doesn't make sense to use something this problematic for even 1% of the general population. (Though incidence might be as high as 6% - they can't decide.) And as others have said, the alternatives aren't just comparable - they are better.

Think about that, in relation to your home.

The realtor told me it was to prevent termites. It also prevents crickets, who sing beautifully at night. I'm about to start removing it. What about the weed barrier fabric underneath? Under that is dead, clayey soil. Can anyone advise me? Should I leave about 1 ft of it right around the house foundation to stop those termites?

Rubberific Mulch stands alone as the industry�s hallmark recycled rubber mulch. This realistically-textured groundcover is made from 100% recycled rubber and will not fade, rot, compress or lose its original beauty, even after years of exposure to the elements. Rubberific Mulch saves homeowners time and money, and is one of the safest playground coverings available.

Color: Redwood
80 cubic feet (640 square feet at a depth of 1 � inches)
Made from environmentally-friendly materials approved by the EPA
Preserves ground moisture without absorption, helping to keep plants healthy
99.9% wire free
Easy to install
Long-lasting color
Little to no annual maintenance
Does not attract termites, carpenter ants or other harmful insects
Five times heavier than wood mulches
Inhibits growth of molds and fungi, reducing allergy risk
Minimizes dust
ADA-approved material for playground use
Exceeds U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission standards for playgrounds
Made in USA

Ditto on the landscape fabric. Organic debris accumulates, weeds take over, and you're stuck with trying to extract the weeds, plants, and landscape fabric.

Woodswalker, ideally I would not have any mulch, landscape fabric, organic debris, vegetation, or piles of stuff near the foundation of your house. These encourage insects and rodents. Gutters and grading should effectively move water away from the foundation. A scuffle or stirrup hoe makes short work of weeding in bare soil.

Hazardous Waste is a particular term with very precise definitions, and tires would certainly not be in that category as suggested by pt03's post above. Hazardous Wsates have very stringent handling and disposal regulations.

'Hazardous Material' is a term applied more in the emergency response field, in terms of flammability, toxicity, reactivity, etc. when fighting fires or responding to spill incidents. I would say tires are a haz mat only in the sense that when they catch on fire, you definitely have serious air and runoff problems.

kimmsr's link says:

"It's toxic: Research has shown that rubber leachate from car tires can kill entire aquatic communities of algae, zooplankton, snails, and fish. While part of this toxicity may be from the heavy metals (like chromium and zinc) found in tires, it's also from the chemicals used in making tires. These include 2-mercaptobenzothiazole and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, both known to be hazardous to human and environmental health."

Algae and zooplankton? OK, don't mulch the bay with it. ??

I would still like to see the 'research.' The article presents no data or references. I am not arguing the point about metals, because I DON'T HAVE ANY DATA. The idea that someone supressed data when they decided tires could be sold as mulch is disingenuous. How about the formulas were changed to reduce or eliminate metals in tire production? How long ago was this?

I do have concerns about the PAHs, and that's the first I've heard of 2-MBT but it makes sense as it's a rubber vulcanizing agent (as well as a fungicide - and possibly a dessert topping? If you remember the old Shimmer commercial on SNL) Had a site with 2-MBT once. Its toxicity was so low there were no federal numbers for safe levels in soil, though.

Again, I am no fan of rubber mulch, I just want the risks to be properly expressed.

"Total and plant available Zn, As, Cd, Pd and Ni were examined for each treatment. The total and plant available Zinc levels in the rubber mulch treatment were 21.2 and 19.0 parts per million (ppm) as compared to a range of 5.6 to 6.8 ppm respectively for the other treatments. The total and available levels of As, Cd, Pb and Ni were similar for all treatments."

http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/TRA/PLANTS/heavy_metals.shtml

It appears this study found no significant changes in metal concentrations in the soil. Still doesn't tell me what's in the rubber itself, but a useful piece of info nevertheless.
I will keep searching around.

http://www.epa.gov/nerl/features/tire_crumbs.html

has a link to a study conducted by EPA in 2008 where they actually sampled rubber mulch. Note how hidden and suppressed this is - I found it in 5 minutes.

EPA points out the study did not collect a massive number of samples, but:

Ranges for playground crumb rubber samples:

Pb 1 to 8 ppm
Zn 4300 - 18,000 ppm
Cr 0.3 - 3 ppm

Pb is very low here, well within the range of soil background levels in many areas, including mine, and is even farther below what EPA considers safe for soil at a residence (400).

Zn sounds high, but it is not nearly as toxic as lead. Our state has a safe level for residential use of 22,000, and the high end of the range is below that.

Those Cr values are quite low and would present no significant toxicity.

So, it's not too different from soil, really, with the possible exception of zinc. I wouldn't recommend eating it, any more than you would soil.

It's a long report and I didn't see whether they tested for any other metals, but I suspect not. I still don't have quantitative numbers on solvents, vulcanizers, etc. Will keep looking.

I still don't like the stuff for so many other reasons.

"As part of this evaluation, data were collected at a limited number of sites. The full study protocol was implemented at two synthetic turf fields and one playground. Additional samples were collected at four other synthetic turf fields and a second playground. Sampling sites were located in North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, and Maryland.

On average, the concentrations of components monitored in this study were below levels of concern; however, given the very limited nature of this study (i.e., limited number of components monitored, samples sites, and samples taken at each site) and the wide diversity of tire crumb material, it is not possible to extend the results beyond the four study sites or to reach any more comprehensive conclusions without the consideration of additional data."

I've never used rubber mulch but I won't get bent out of shape because someone wants to.

Lloyd

As I've said, there are a bunch of other reasons I don't like the idea. I just haven't identified a serious health risk based on the limited data I've looked at so far. I feel it's my duty to do that analysis since I know something about it.

The EPA study did look at artificial turf, which I was surprised to learn also has a tire base. I didn't look too closely at those numbers since it was not the topic. I think some of them were higher.