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Research on potential new product
categories is a continuing part of TSP
operations.
A recycled rubber surface designed for
use on playgrounds was tested over a
12 month period at Fredericton’s Park
Street School, in close collaboration with
its Home & School Association. More
than 400 elementary students were
involved in the ‘on-site’ evaluation and
gave the surface an enthusiastic ‘allseason’
work-out.
The composition of this new bulk
material is quite different from the
‘crumb rubber’ used in manufacturing
other recycled products from scrap tires.
It contains noticeably larger ‘stringlike’
pieces, bonded together to form a
resilient honeycomb base. The result
is a durable ground cover, similar in
appearance to woven matting. It’s
noticeably softer under foot than the
‘pea-gravel’ traditionally used in high
traffic areas around children’s slides and
climbing apparatus. |
A key goal of such applications
is to lower the risk of playground
scrapes, cuts or bruises, without any
corresponding increase in long term
maintenance costs.
This project showed that the new
surface also made the area more
accessible for wheelchairs, unlike
traditional surfaces which can
severely impede their movement.
Susan Mackenzie is President of the
Park Street School Home & School
Association. “We were very pleased
with the way the surface performed
with more than 400 kids using our
playground every day. It’s clearly more
comfortable and stable under foot,”
she said.
“We also experienced very little ice build-up during the winter, because it
drained water more effectively. That
meant less mud and mess around
during the early spring. We also
noticed that the kids tended to gather
on the new surface, even when they
were not playing on the exercise
equipment,” Mrs. Mackenzie said. |
