Rubber Mulch: Four Fast Facts

Rubber mulch is here to stay. Its main purposes - for playgrounds, gardens, yards, landscaping, horse and athletic arenas - should be enough reason for people to keep on using them as ground cover. However, for those who need convincing about the benefits of rubber mulch, this post contains four fun (but practical) nugget-sized facts about this hardy material. 

Heavier than water

The main reason why rubber mulch won’t budge or doesn’t float even in a heavy deluge is that each nugget is denser than water. Some clients have given feedback and sent pictures of how things in their yard or garden got messy after a storm, yet their rubber mulch patch remained intact and pristine!

... yet will not hold water individually.

This is also the reason why rubber mulch makes an ideal ground cover to keep weeds and fungi at bay. The top layer will remain dry while allowing excess moisture to pass through and into the soil and roots of plants. So if you want weed-free and slip-proof areas outdoors, rubber mulch is a great option.

Keeps millions of used tires away from landfills

The main reason that rubber mulch exists is that so much discarded rubber tires need to be recycled and kept out of already-flowing landfills. The process of turning the tires into mulch is an approved one, with multiple safety and environmental standards constantly in check.

It’s really, truly a low-maintenance mulch.

A big part of why a lot of people are hesitant about trying out rubber mulch is the cost. Admittedly, the initial cost is slightly bigger at first compared to the price tag of traditional mulches like wood chips or sand. However, owing to the fact that rubber mulch won’t need yearly replacement and that its colors won’t fade for up to a decade, the investment proves to be worth it in the long run. This is in stark contrast to wood chips needing annual replacement because they break down and rot, therefore lessening the kind of fall protection and safety it should be providing in the first place.

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