What is Playground Rubber Mulch?

One of the most popular safety play surfaces today is playground rubber mulch. Many have no idea what it’s comprised of, how long it’s been around, and why it is so popular. Find out the answer to all these questions and more in this informative interview with Jelly Bean CEO Nic Campesi.

In the video you’ll learn:

Watch now and give us a call or fill out our quote form if you have any questions.

https://youtu.be/67_5fwJD3m0

Here is a transcript of the above video for your reference:

Clark: [00:00:00] Hey Clark Covington here with Nic Campesi, Nic how are you?

Nic: [00:00:03] Fantastic Clark and yourself?

Clark: [00:00:05] Doing great. Nic I want to talk to you a little bit today about playground rubber mulch. What exactly is that?

Nic: [00:00:11] Playground rubber mulch is a rubber product underneath a playground for fall safety and you know it is typically a tire-based product and it’s whole design is just to help reduce playground injuries on you know from kids falling or tripping underneath swings slides you know and other structures.

Clark: [00:00:37] Sure, and how long has this. You know playground mulch been around as as a play surface?

Nic: [00:00:43] You know for my industry experience you know I see that it kind of came about some time around the 1980s where people started chopping up tires and throwing them on playgrounds.

Clark: [00:00:53] OK. And what are the different types of playground rubber mulch?

Nic: [00:00:58] So you really have a couple different things in the marketplace. You have companies that just chop up tires and then you have people that go a step further or chop it up and they’ll actually put a coating on it to keep all the nasty black stuff from getting on kids you know. And then you know the third would be what our company does Jelly Bean and we make a non-tire virgin rubber mulch.

Clark: [00:01:24] Okay. And can you give me an idea of tire of tire rubber mulch vs non-tire virgin rubber mulch in terms of how long the product lasts?

Nic: [00:01:35] So you know they’re both vulcanized products so you know I mean we have a 60 year test on our product and realistically you know there’s no no reason why you know a tire rubber might not necessarily you know provide good fall data for that long. However a couple of things you know the older the tire rubber gets we’re starting to have a lot of people who bought tire rubber used 5 10 15 years ago who are saying you know it starts breaking. And you know the kids are starting to get black streaks on their clothes and whatnot or the coating is coming off. So I mean ultimately you know vulcanized rubber is hard to destroy. And you know the jelly bean rubber it’s a little higher durometer rubber than tire-based rubber so you know we put a full 20 year warranty on our product that it won’t degrade.

Clark: [00:02:26] OK so a 20 year warranty that it won’t degrade.

Nic: [00:02:30] That’s correct.

Clark: [00:02:31] And what are some other benefits of using playground rubber mulch?

Nic: [00:02:35] Well you know ultimately you’ve got to have a safety surface under a playground. And so you know the bottom of the level really the most expensive over time is throwing wood chips down because you constantly have to replace them they’re constantly rotting and they’re left out of spec the next day after you put them in because they degrade so fast. You know I talked to someone this morning that you know their issue is heck that you know we’ve got we’ve got kids that a re you know have mold allergies and this is wood is molding you know going to a synthetic-based product long term is lower cost though higher cost upfront. And so you know we see more you know as you look at over time a synthetic product really being the smart choice for a playground.

Clark: [00:03:28] Sure. And what’s the difference between pre-consumer and post-consumer rubber mulch?

Nic: [00:03:33] So pre-consumer would be like Jelly Bean rubber that’s rubber you know we’re taking a rubber tile that’s designed for a child to play on. And this you know we’re taking stuff the trimmings the things that don’t meet scrap we bundle it up and that’s where we make the product you know a post-consumer product would be like a tire because it’s used on a car that’s been on the roadway. You know are are some form of other rubber even could be you know post-consumer if it were a gasket or something.

Clark: [00:04:07] Sure. And if people want to learn more about Jelly Bean playground rubber mulch how could they find out is there a web site they can go to?

Nic: [00:04:15] Yes if you got to www dot jelly bean rubber mulch dot com you can also fill out the contact form there and feel free to send us any questions.

Clark: [00:04:27] Awesome. Nic thank you so much.

Nic: [00:04:29] All right. Thank you.

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Playground Rubber Mulch Installation

One of the most common questions we get here at Jelly Bean deals with playground rubber mulch installation. Our CEO did an interview recently that discusses everything from site prep prior to delivery to the installation of our non-toxic non-tire rubber mulch, to maintaining the product to ensure a long life.

In the video you’ll learn:

Watch now and give us a call or fill out our quote form if you have any questions.

https://youtu.be/A9CVAnsuVNQ

Here is a transcript of the above video for your reference:

Clark: [00:00:00] Hey Clark Covington here with Nic Campesi. Nic, how are you sir?

Nic: [00:00:04] Great Clark, how about yourself?

Clark: [00:00:06] Oh I’m doing real good thank you. Today Nic I just want to talk to you a little bit about Jelly Bean rubber mulch and the installation process behind the product. But for starters for those that aren’t familiar what is Jelly Bean rubber mulch?

Nic: [00:00:21] The Jelly Bean rubber mulch is a non-tire rubber mulch. It is all made out of a pre-consumer rubber that is designed for a child to play on in it’s first use. It’s a byproduct of manufacturing a rubber tile when the tiles are stamped out and molded we’re taking the excess the ones that don’t meet spec. And that’s where we chop it up and we make a super clean playground-grade safety mulch and the product is 100 percent wire-free. It’s free of phthalates and red list chemicals carbon black and all kinds of other nasty things that you sometimes find in tire mulch.

Clark: [00:01:03] Sure. And how is the product typically ordered?

Nic: [00:01:08] So we sell the product by the ton.

Clark: [00:01:11] Okay and would people order online? Would they call you what are you usually seeing in terms of the ordering process?

Nic: [00:01:17] So most commercial projects are people are going to call in the office and we’re going to have a phone conversation to kinda understand their unique situation because you know we do have some smaller commercial playgrounds that don’t need a full 18 wheeler and you know we have some that you know have ordered multiple containers for export outside the country.

Clark: [00:01:40] Absolutely. And walk me through some common installation areas is it parks, school playgrounds, daycares? What type of places are you seeing the product installed?

Nic: [00:01:49] You know it’s all of those everything from a school district with many playgrounds across multiple campuses to a small church that may be running a Sunday school to parks and other municipal play areas to daycares we really see quite a wide variety of install areas.

Clark: [00:02:11] Yeah that makes a lot of sense and because of that I know this would vary from install to install but in general what type of site prep should a buyer do before they take delivery?

Nic: [00:02:25] So the real important thing is to look at the area and say you know hey does this area hold water? Is it normally a pond when you get a small rainstorm? And if that’s the case then you’re going to want to build the area up. You know you’re going to want to maybe haul in some dirt or some gravel but in most cases you know if you have good drainage good stable soil then typically it’s as simple as you know just level the ground and then you know you’re going to want to put down some form of like a weed barrier fabric that’s kind of the base step. Now you know a common thing we’re seeing now is we’re having people call us up who had wood mulch and it’s degraded and they wonder you know what do we do here? Do we do we take it out? And in most cases we’d say you probably want take it out just so it’s not rotting and jamming up drainage any further you know as it degrades.

Clark: [00:03:23] Sure sure. And so that would be removing the wood mulch and then replacing it with something like Jelly Bean rubber mulch?

Nic: [00:03:30] That’s correct.

Clark: [00:03:32] It makes a lot of sense and maybe in that kind of installation you might be able to reuse the barriers or a raised bed or something like that?

Nic: [00:03:41] Absolutely.

Clark: [00:03:41] OK. Nic tell me how is the product delivered?

Nic: [00:03:46] So it’s delivered in a one ton sack that’s banded to a pallet and depending on the amount that you order will be the type of vessel that is delivered. Now you know most average commercial playgrounds need about an 18 wheeler of mulch. And so it’s most economical for instead of us to take it off the 18 wheeler for you to have you know like a forklift or tractor or Bobcat where you can remove the mulch from the truck get the truck driver out of there and then you can kind of bring it right where you want to go with that piece of equipment because there’s hooks on the top of the bag and then you can just undo the bag and then it’s pretty much installed.

Clark: [00:04:28] Yeah that’s great. And that kind of leads to my next question. What should a customer do once it’s delivered? And you kind of mentioned there get it near where you’re gonna install it is that right?

Nic: [00:04:39] That’s right yeah you can you can cut the pallet off the bottom you can grab the bag by the hooks on the top walk it where it needs to go undo or cut the bag and then the material just kind of comes out. At that point you know you kind of rake it smooth and then you know it’s really n othing to it. It is kind of like almost just like moving rocks or dirt.

Clark: [00:04:59] Oh absolutely. And for, let’s say an elementary school playground, I know that’s popular place that Jelly Bean is installed. What what would an install look like in terms of getting everything up to par calibration for fall safety and to have the product work optimally. What would that look like? Just spreading it out?

Nic: [00:05:21] Yeah, so you are gonna spread it you want to make sure that you get to the proper inch depth that was ordered that you that you’ve got the right amount that you needed and typically you know I mean we we always quote a compacted depth. So once kids run around you should have the exact amount based off the square footage that you provided us. And you know the key there is you know you’re not filling holes up with with rubber that if you had holes or undulation in the playground you’re going to want to have those filled up with with rock or dirt or something else before you put your weed barrier fabric down and really you know once you spread the material out and you’ve got it nice and even the only other thing you really would do you know we do recommend people hose the material down the first time you use it. That just gets any of the residual dust from the manufacturing process when we granulite the rubber to make sure that you know all that dust goes to the bottom. And then after that there’s really no maintenance on the product.

Clark: [00:06:17] Ok, so that really gives me a good idea of getting the most out of the product. Now is there anything to do as the product sits and ages is there anything that we should do to this playground rubber mulch to make sure it lasts a long time?

Nic: [00:06:30] The only real thing that you should look at is just watch you know the high traffic areas that they’re not being eroded that you’re not going to have too much of it displaced in a fall zone. So you know if you know someone who’s in charge let’s just say once a month or so just look at it and say hey you know it’s you know the material really packs well. So it doesn’t tend to migrate. You know if you get a lot leaves that fall on top of the material it’s good just to run a leaf blower on the top of it to remove any of the leaves off the top and that’s really it there’s really no special maintenance for the product.

Clark: [00:07:07] Yeah it seems very low maintenance and that’s wonderful. And let me just follow up on that from your experience you’ve been selling this product a long time. Does it last a long time?

Nic: [00:07:18] Oh it certainly does. I mean and that’s why we warranty the performance for 20 years. So you know you really don’t have any issues with the material degrading because it’s vulcanized rubber and so you know there is no reason why you should at least 20 years of life out of this product.

Clark: [00:07:36] That’s excellent and that would be compared to what for something like wood mulch?

Nic: [00:07:40] I mean wood mulch you could have to replace it every year to other year depending on how much you start with you know weather conditions you know I mean it it’s never ending maintenance with wood mulch.

Clark: [00:07:53] Right. And this is a wonderful alternative. Let me ask you Nic is there anything else that those listening should know about installing Jelly Bean anything else you want them to know?

Nic: [00:08:04] You know not really I mean I think we covered most of it. Certainly if they ever had any questions you could reach us direct at 8 7 7 2 4 9 8 8 1 8.

Clark: [00:08:15] Awesome Nick I appreciate it so much and have a wonderful day.

Nic: [00:08:19] All right. Thanks Clark.

Clark: [00:08:20] Thank you.

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Best-In-Class Warranty Covers Against Degradation on Pre-Consumer Virgin Non-Toxic Rubber Mulch Safety Surface

Houston, TX March 8, 2018 – Jelly Bean Rubber Mulch announces 20-year warranty guarding against degradation of the product. Jelly Bean CEO and Founder Nic Campesi spoke at length about the warranty in a recent YouTube video, detailing how the safety play surface maker came up with the warranty, why it is relevant today, and how it differs from other play surface offerings like rubber tire mulch.

“We’re excited to offer a warranty that more than likely our clients will never need. In fact, to date, we haven’t had a single one called in. Our pre-consumer virgin non-toxic rubber safety play surface is as long lasting as it is safe for falls. That said, we wanted to offer protection for those investing in a safety play surface like Jelly Bean that reassures the buyer that we believe in our product enough to offer a whopping 20 years of protection against degradation,” explains Campesi.

Products like rubber tire mulch and other alternative play surfaces offer warranties that only cover paint leaching over a given period of time. Those that do cover against degradation do so sparingly compared to the new Jelly Bean 20-year warranty.

“We have a long lasting vulcanized product, and since it’s pre-consumer we know how it is made, and thus we are very comfortable in offering such a warranty. With our new financing initiative coming online we feel like this is the perfect one-two punch in terms of added value for our clients investing in a safety play surface,” notes Jelly Bean CEO Nic Campesi.

Jelly Bean Rubber Mulch is the only play surface to date to offer 20 years protection against degradation of a pre-consumer virgin rubber product. Watch the full interview with Jelly Bean Founder and CEO discussing the warranty on YouTube.

 For more information or to get a quote on Jelly Bean Rubber Mulch visit www.JellyBeanRubberMulch.com or call 877-249-8818.

About Jelly Bean Rubber Mulch

Playground surface Jelly Bean is a 100 percent wire-free pre-consumer virgin rubber mulch product. The material is sterile, latex free, and contains no such carcinogens or harmful VOC’s as tire mulch could. Jelly Bean is so safe it’s in compliance with California’s indoor air quality standards. The product is odorless,100 percent free of contaminants and does not hold any additional heat. Jelly Bean offers an industry-best playground fall safety rating exceeding CPSC guidelines for fall safety, and surpassing traditional playground coverings by hundreds of percentage points. All these reasons show why parks and schools nationwide choose Jelly Bean Rubber Mulch for their play surfaces.

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5 REASONS WHY VIRGIN RUBBER MULCH IS THE SAFEST SOLUTION FOR YOUR PLAYGROUND

Did you know that more than 550,000 playground injuries end up in the emergency room every year? Remarkably that’s as many injuries as there are estimated for those, adults and kids, using bicycles per year combined. That’s more than 1,500 visits per day! In fact, ten percent of them are diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries, including concussions.

No matter what parents and teachers say, children have a habit of forgetting to “play safe” when they get to the park. They run, jump, slide, climb, and inevitably fall. The playground’s surface plays an important role when these falls happen.

Rubber chips have been shown to consistently absorb more shock impact than any other standard surface material. In fact, when compacted to our recommended depth it provides a safe fall depth of 17 feet.

If you want to provide a safe environment for children to play, consider the top option on the market!

Allergies

It seems like more and more children are developing allergies. One of the most common ones that children are encountering is dust. It is incredibly common for dust to build up on gravel playgrounds and other materials.

Jelly Bean Rubber Mulch is sealed so it does not make or gather dust. It is also nontoxic so children and pets are safe when enjoying playtime. Best of all, it also cleans easily so other allergens which may build up from children’s sticky fingers can be washed away without a problem.

Insect-Repelling

One of the most common materials for playground use are wood chips. They are a cost-effective option, and people have been familiar with them for years.

Unfortunately, there are often hidden costs associated with using materials like wood chips. They can be a breeding ground for mosquitos and other insects!

When these materials are rained on, they retain water. When you turn over wood chips, you’ll often find a number of creepy-crawlers underneath. Often, the water causes the chips to rot, which in turn attracts more bugs and means they need to be replaced…undermining one of the key reasons people choose it in the first place! Our product has anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties baked in.

Over recent years a wide range of diseases have been primarily transmitted by insects. Some of the most common have been West Nile, Zika, several types of flu. Protect the children using your playground from these illnesses by switching to a safer material.

Non-Leaching

Because our products are 100% pre-consumer virgin rubber, we are able to guarantee that our product will not leach color or toxic substances onto the children using your playground.

Our material comes from rubber tiles, sliced and diced into virgin rubber mulch chunks. We chop it uniformly to give you a safe play mix for children. Its color is natural and not dyed on, so it will not leave tire dust or paint on your children.

Ask anyone who has had tire mulch for an extended period of time and they will tell you about how the color eventually comes off on the kids. Even the best coatings are only warrantied for 15 years against total color loss.

Get a Quote Today

If you’re in the market for playground rubber mulch give us a chance to present you with a no-obligaiton free quote for your playground today.


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