In the world of fashion trends come and go with the seasons, and designers rise and fall like the tides, riding the waves as long as they can before looking for new inspirations. Currently, a major trend is the use of rubber in fashion apparel and accessories. Rubber accents take ordinary designs and raise them to the level of funky and contemporary. This new trend is one that holds significance, giving designers and marketing groups the opportunity to promote the benefits of recycling rubber to be reused for playground mulch and other constructive purposes.

Watches

Rubber is the latest craze in watches, with designers combining rubber with metal, ceramic, and stones for an edgy, contemporary look. A popular rising star is Ice watches, based in the UK. Ice watches are primarily made of silicone and plastics, and come in shocking colors for emphasis and a funky spin on the traditional watch. The concept of rubber in watches is quickly being adopted by many designers.

Jewelry

The latest trend in jewelry is fake, chunky pieces with oversized accents. Rubber is leading the trend, with rubber jewelry that comes in all different colors and styles. It is not for nothing that the height of society is drawn to products that are touted as completely green, made of recycled materials. Rubber, too, can be easily recycled, and what better way to pronounce your devotion to Mother Earth than by sporting it in your accessories?

Shoes

The rubber shoe concept was first introduced by Crocs, and has since taken the shoe industry by storm. The company Melissa specializes in high end rubber shoes, including pumps and dress shoes. Hunter is another highly successful rubber boot company. Rubber shoes are often made from recycled rubber, and are stylish, comfortable, and well-priced.

There is no better way to show support for the environment than by wearing your heart on your sleeve, literally. Wearing clothing and accessories that are made from recycled materials help promote the concept for which recycled rubber mulch stands, and helps clean up planet Earth, one recycled tire at a time.

It’s that time of year: the weather is getting warmer and the trees are starting to bloom. Because spring has made an early entrance this year many are getting a head start on their spring cleaning, airing out the house from the dust and junk that’s been collected over the course of the winter. While spring cleaning may seem like an arduous task, with proper organization and a method to the madness it can be fun, and a great way to air out the house in anticipation of summer.

Work from the Outside In

If you start cleaning your home from the inner rooms much of your junk will end up dumped in the garage, then you’ll push off cleaning the garage, and you’ll be left with a mountain of junk that is too terrifying to tackle. Start with the garage itself, choosing a nice warm day when the kids will be happy to be outside helping. Unload everything and wash down the walls and floors before systematically putting it all back, evaluating what should go and what should stay as you work.

You’re bound to find old used tires and other useless rubber as you work. Instead of dumping it, do the environment a favor and donate your used tires to a rubber mulch company. You’ll be helping the environment by recycling, and the rubber will be used for high quality rubber mulch flooring. In fact, you may even consider installing a rubber floor in your garage while you’re at it.

Once the garage is clean you’ll have a hard time dumping your junk there, and it will go where it belongs – in the garbage.

Bins and Boxes

Bins and boxes can be a great help in the organizational process. Once you’ve cleared out a shelf look at the items to see what sort of storage you need. Measure the shelf so you know how big of a bin you can purchase, and head to Target or your nearest major retailer. Neatly labeled bins will make everything easier to store and find.

Assigned Spaces

Assign specific clothing drawers for each child, even if some children share clothing. This will help prevent confusion and fights in the morning rush. Giving each child their own junk bin or drawer will also offer them a sense of pride and responsibility, and is instrumental in the maturing process. It also offers a sense of privacy in crowded spaces.

Reevaluate

Everyone has objects lying around that fade in with the wallpaper after a while, until you don’t notice that it’s there. Reevaluate everything you see from a visitor’s viewpoint as you clean, and decide if it does something for your home, or just adds to the clutter. You’ll be surprised how much junk you have that does nothing to help the décor at all.

Spring cleaning can be a labor of love and a fun family activity. It’s up to you to make sure that it is!

This year’s mild winter gave many cyclists the opportunity to ride bikes a lot more than in a conventional winter. Professional bikes can be expensive and hold personal value. It is important to maintain the bike properly so that it lives a long life.

During the winter a bike should not be stored in the house because frequent temperature changes between the cold outdoors and warm indoors could cause moisture to condense on the inside of the frame, leading to rust. Repeated freezing and thawing can cause components to come loose or, in the worst case, crack. This can also make minor imperfections in the frame’s finish become major cracks. Instead, store it in a garage or some other cold shelter.

Bare concrete is not a friend to rubber tires on bikes; it draws moisture out of the rubber of the tires, causing dry-rot and premature aging. If you must store your bike with the wheels on the floor, try to find a non-concrete floor or put rugs or rubber wearmats under the wheels. Another good option is to hang the bike by a wheel from a hook that is drilled into the wall.

Beware of road salt which is highly corrosive to the bicycle’s frame and metal components. Make sure you wash your bike before storing it for the winter, or wash it regularly if you are riding all winter long. Bikes stored in garages should also be dusted off regularly because cars coming in and out of the garage bring in road salt.

When riding, beware of the ever-present potholes, as they can bend your rims beyond repair, and newly minted potholes present a double hazard – the chasm itself, and the chunks of shattered pavement around it, which can puncture your tire. Batteries for accessories like your lights and cycling computer may have a shorter life in the cold temperatures.

It is always a good idea to carefully maintain a well-used bike just as you would a car. Once the tires’ life is over, don’t dump them, do the environment a favor and recycle them, to be made into rubber mulch.

Rubber mulch is manufactured only after a tire has been worn to death and has traveled the world. It is a long journey from the plantations where rubber is harvested to the playground mulch that graces the neighborhood playground.

Natural rubber, also known as India rubber or caoutchouc, is tapped from trees like sap. An incision is made in the bark and a collection bucket is secured to the tree with tire. A sap-like substance that is the natural from of rubber seeps out of the tree and is collected in the buckets. Different plantations and regions have varying specific methods of collecting the rubber and processing it.

Rubber trees originally grew in South America. In 1736, samples of rubber were introduced to France. It was only in 1770 that rubber samples arrived in England. Joseph Priestley observed that it was good for rubbing off pencil marks on paper, hence the name ‘rubber’. Over the years, the seeds of rubber trees traveled to England, Indonesia, Malaysia, and other countries. Today, much of the world’s rubber comes from India.

After a lengthy and precise process of collecting natural rubber, it is shipped to destinations around the world. Because the cost of natural rubber has risen, the shipping method with the lowest cost is preferred. It may be shipped in steel drums, ISO tanks, Flexitanks, or using other methods, depending on the manufacturer’s needs and specifications.

Rubber has many uses in our lives today, in everything from rubber boots to sealants around windows. Perhaps one of the most important functions of rubber is for tires that power trucks and cars, and after that, rubber mulch flooring. Rubber mulch is used for safe playground flooring, landscaping, horse arena flooring, and shooting ranges. Rubber mulch only comes into being after a long journey from the plantations in Asia.

As the rich get richer and technology gets more advanced, there are more and more creative ways to conserve the environment’s resources. A house for sale in upstate New York is a prime example of this. Located within walking distance of the Mohonk preserve, which offers 1,000 acres of scenic hiking and rock climbing, this home rotates on its axis to make optimum use out of solar energy.

The home that is now for sale for $1.2 million is a wooden, dome shaped structure that resembles a spaceship. Each season, the home is rotated for maximum efficiency of solar rays. The home was built using a kit from France called Domespace, and is the only one of its kind that has been built in the U.S. It is made of honey colored wood and features bamboo floors, with high ceilings and long sloping windows that keep the space bright and airy. It consists of two floors, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and living space on the first floor. A central spiral staircase leads to a second floor which houses the master suite, office, and balcony.

This may seem an extravagant way to try to go green, but there are simpler ways for the average consumer to keep the environment healthy. Rubber mulch is made out of recycled tires, and is great for use in playgrounds, landscaping, and horse arenas. While it costs a little more than wood chips, many users have found that the rubber pays out for itself within a short time because it is very durable, and needs little maintenance and no replenishing. The average home can be made more eco-friendly with recycled rubber mulch used in the front lawn as part of the landscaping, and in the backyard playground. Using rubber mulch is a practical way that anyone can help the environment without spending $1.2 million.

The Green Revolution is all the rage today, as companies come up with innovative ways to recycle. Rubber, in particular, is being recycled more and more, with second and even third lives. Rubber is a substance that is easy to recycle due to its hardiness and the many uses it can have. Rubber tires are one of the main sources of recycled rubber, as tons and tons of rubber is given new life rather than rotting away.

Recycled Rubber Bracelets

Imagine that, rubber as jewelry! Uncommongoods.com offers a unique holiday gift for the nature-lover on your list. Rubber bracelets designed by jewelry designer Elizabeth Hake are made from bicycle tires and other recycled rubber. They feature funky shapes and chrome embellishments that are a real statement. The bracelets are well priced at forty dollars.

Rubber Mulch for Playgrounds

Rubber mulch is the latest and best in playground flooring. It comes in the form of chips, or a solid version known as rubber bond. Playsafer rubber mulch is a preferred brand, as it is proven to offer superior playground safety, with extra shock absorbency. Rubber flooring also comes in various colors, is odorless, and does not stain kids’ clothes.

Rubber Pavers

Recycled rubber is also found in the flooring industry in the form of pavers and mats. Tiles made from rubber are durable and water resistant and can be used to easily and cost effectively pave garden walkways, driveways, pool sides, and other areas. Rubber mats are popular for use on decks and in mudrooms. There is much variety in this field, with flooring that interlocks for easy self installation. The rubber pavers come in designs of bricks, octagonal tiles, and much more.

With a large amount of recycled rubber products on the market today, it is easy to help the environment while achieving your personal goals of beautiful products that are also affordable.

Going green is all the rage these days, but some people take it to a new level, investing thousands, and even millions of dollars into houses that are energy efficient. It is understandable to purchase rubber mulch flooring for playgrounds, as the material is recycled, and safer, and this can be done for any playground, personal or public. Get a load of these outrageous eco friendly homes.

Plastic Bottle House

Yup, you read right. The Honduras-based company Eco-Tec is building a series of houses that are constructed from plastic bottles that are filled with mud and bound together with a cement mixture, for construction that is cheap and long-lasting. We hope. A standard plastic bottle house is made of 8,000 plastic bottles, and features rounded designs and architecture. Who would have though your recycled bottles would go toward such a worthy cause?

Recycled Tire House

As of now the recycled tire house looks more like a one-bedroom hut, but this house, like rubber mulch, makes use of rubber tires that are past their prime. The tires are stacked and filled with insulating materials for extremely thick walls. Maybe some time in the near future rubber mulch chips will be used in place of bricks…

Orchid House

The Orchid House is located in England, and is to date the most expensive green house sold, at $14.2 million. It is built with cutting edge designs, and is made to resemble a bee orchid, a flower often found on nature reserves. The Orchid House supplies more energy that it consumes, with a geothermal heating underground pump. Numerous other intricate details make this an ultimate eco friendly house.

Cliff House

Designed to be off-grid, this house is situated right on the precipice of a huge cliff. It features a hybrid wood/solar radiant heating system with propane backup. Other extremely advanced techniques make this home the ultimate in responsible living.

Owners and trainers of horses put in thousands of dollars and hours of time into grooming their horses to be the best they can be. One of the most important aspects of keeping horses healthy and happy is ensuring that they have the right flooring to walk on. When building a horse arena, this is especially important, because the horses will train in the arena every day. There are some aspects to be wary of when planning a horse arena.

The surface materials can be two to six inches deep, and the recipe you use will greatly influence the speed  and endurance your horse will master. Recipes vary, including sand, rubber mulch, silt, clay, and other materials. Tire mulch is fairly new to the market, but many are finding that the extra absorbency it has gives horses an extra bounce in their step, and easier landing after jumps. Horse arena mulch should be mixed with other materials for the correct arena flooring.

The arena should be built on dry, flat, and well draining ground. It is advisable to build a shallow ditch around the perimeter of the arena for good draining of rainwater. Keep in mind that a ditch that is too steep could cause erosion of the base soil during real downpours.

Before choosing a surface material, it is important to have an adequate base. The base is the flooring between the earth and the surface material. It gives stability to the arena flooring, carries off rainwater, and acts as a protection between the earth and the surface material. The base should be hard packed, and carry no loose rocks or stones which can be dislodged by horses’ hooves.

As the Green Revolution keeps gaining steam, it is spreading to all areas of daily living, from household products to the way we eat. There are some that are gaining instant popularity for their eco-friendly aspects as well as for their aesthetic appeal and other features.

Rubber Mulch playground surface
Playgrounds of old were built on grass, blacktop, and cement. In recent years, wood chips have also been used. The playground flooring of the future is Playsafer rubber mulch. Rubber mulch is made of used rubber tires, saving space in landfills, and helping to recycle used goods. Tire mulch is used mainly for playground flooring, but is also seen in horse arenas and for landscaping purposes. The new and improved playground surfacing comes in a variety of colors that never fades or weathers, and needs little or no maintenance. It also carries no odor, and allows kids to play without getting dusty, muddy, and dirty. Rubber mulch is every mother’s dream.

Method Cleaning Supplies
Method makes cleaning cool. Founded by college friends Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan, Method soaps got their first big break when they were picked up by Target. Today they are sold in major retailers nationwide. Method soaps are eco-friendly, and “as pleasing to the nose as they are to the eye.” They are packaged in innovative and pleasing packaging that is, of course, eco-friendly.

Laminate Flooring
Hardwood is a flooring of choice for many, but it is very costly, and can take a toll on the rate of deforestation. Laminate is the new hardwood. Laminate flooring is made of synthetic materials, combined with some wood shavings, and can be made to imitate the look of virtually any flooring. It is a lot more affordable than a hardwood floor, and easy to maintain. Laminate flooring may also be known as Pergo, a European company that came up with the concept of laminate floors.

With time, our lifestyles will undoubtedly change to reflect an effort to go green.

Tires are one of those objects that are an integral part of our lives and are used daily, yet we barely notice them. That is, until they dysfunction. Children live on their bikes during summer time, and our entire lifestyle is based upon the ability to drive. All this hinges on rubber tires.

The first recorded form of tires was bands of steel that were welded around wooden rings, and used on carts and horse and buggies. Skilled craftsmen known as wheelwrights were needed to produce tires, as this was a delicate craft. In 1887 John Boyd Dunlop developed the rubber tire in an effort to prevent the frequent headaches his son had from bouncing around on his bicycle that was balanced on wooden wheels. Over the years the development and function of rubber tires greatly improved. In 1895 the Michelin brothers patented a removable pneumatic tire that was used by Charles Terront to win the world’s first long distance cycling race. From there the progression of tires continued, with today’s industries boasting an impressive array of tires to suit every need.

Most tires have considerable life spans, but after a while, every tire runs its course and is ready to retire. They are not desired in landfills as they take up a large amount of space, and secrete chemicals which can harm the protections in the landfill. The best option is to recycle the used tires.

Rubber mulch is an ingenious invention which helps use the recycled rubber scraps for a constructive purpose. Old rubber tires are ground up into chips of varying sizes. These chips are then resold, and used for playground flooring, horse arenas, and landscaping purposes.

Rubberecycle, one of the leading manufacturers of recycled rubber mulch, helps to recycle hundreds of tires annually. Their Playsafer rubber mulch is then distributed to all parts of the country to be used for the greater good, while helping the environment.

The practice of manufacturing rubber mulch also helps prevent illegal dumping of scrap tires, which can lead to pollution of forests, rivers, and other ecosystems. While rubber tires may live a long life, they are often unceremoniously dumped and left to rot. Recycling them helps further their functionality, and allows rubber mulch to enrich our planet.