# The danger (or lack thereof) of rubber mulch **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609 "2009-05-25T22:00:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/1 "2009-05-25T22:00:43Z")
_\_ I’m on the East coast. My sis-in-law is on the West coast. She’s a hippie through-and-through, but claims she’s not. I’m every stereotype that applies to a middle class East coast suburbanite. So I lay 10,000 pounds of rubber mulch around a swing set. I post a status update on Facebook reflecting that. Sis-in-law sees message. She replies: > [@Sis-in-law](#): > > Excuse my rudeness but honestly that sounds nasty…all that off-gassing & rubber. Don’t you guys have health insurance for your kids? I’ve got thick skin. The buttinsky doesn’t bother me. In fact, being an East coast stereotype, I’m quite used to it. But is there something to this? Is rubber mulch dangerous in some way like she’s implying? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/2 "2009-05-25T22:33:45Z")
I suppose outgassing from some kinds of rubber might conceivably be dangerous in an enclosed space, but out in the open? Not a chance. Meanwhile, it’s free of the splinter risk that you’d have with wood mulch. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/3 "2009-05-25T22:34:46Z")
If there was a health hazard with the stuff, the company that makes it, the store that sells it, and the cities that use it in their playgrounds would have been sued up the ying yang. Tell your sister to quit smoking those banana peels and let your kids have a save romp in the rubber. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/4 "2009-05-25T22:46:35Z")
> [@JerseyFrank](#): > > So I lay 10,000 pounds of rubber mulch around a swing set. That’s a lot of mulch! According to [this](http://rubberscapes.net/coverage-chart.html), enough to fill a 27 X 27’ X 6" hole. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/5 "2009-05-25T23:20:29Z")
I’ve been using it as a substrate for all my reptiles for well over a year with no apparent ill effects. Most of my herps are in the room I also sleep in, and I don’t appear to be any worse for wear either. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/6 "2009-05-25T23:52:14Z")
I took “Don’t you guys have health insurance for your kids?” to mean that you are being over-protective by getting rubber mulch. As in, “Why don’t use just have grass? That’s all we had as kids and we turned out fine.” ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/7 "2009-05-26T00:30:33Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > That’s a lot of mulch! > According to [this](http://rubberscapes.net/coverage-chart.html), enough to fill a 27 X 27’ X 6" hole. it’s a 30x30 area with a 5x20 cutout. This is [the set](http://www.playaround-swing-sets.com/swingsets/detail.php?s=TP) I got. When you start extending safe areas around the set, you wind up with the monstrosity I created. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/8 "2009-05-26T00:35:02Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > I took “Don’t you guys have health insurance for your kids?” to mean that you are being over-protective by getting rubber mulch. As in, “Why don’t use just have grass? That’s all we had as kids and we turned out fine.” that’s how I took it too, but I think she was implying that a broken arm was fixed with insurance. IIRC, she doesn’t have insurance (though her kid does). Even if it were just a broken arm, I’d have gone with the rubber, but it’s worse than that. It’s a 7’ fall from head-to-ground. That’s spinal injury & death height. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/9 "2009-05-26T00:48:26Z")
> [@JerseyFrank](#): > > This is [the set](http://www.playaround-swing-sets.com/swingsets/detail.php?s=TP) I got. That’s pretty sweet looking, maybe even a little nicer than [the President’s swing set](http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_momsatwork/2009/03/rainbow-play-systems-swingset-greets-obama-daughters-on-white-house-lawn.html). ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/10 "2009-05-26T00:55:55Z")
The wood & construction is better on mine. B’s has more goodies. I gotta go get some more goodies for my set. I just put a bike horn on one side. I pointed it at the neighbor’s house… the one with the kids who drink alcohol behind their shed and then pitch the bottles into my yard. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/11 "2009-05-26T11:52:22Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > If there was a health hazard with the stuff, the company that makes it, the store that sells it, and the cities that use it in their playgrounds would have been sued up the ying yang. Tell your sister to quit smoking those banana peels and let your kids have a save romp in the rubber. How long did it take before anyone knew that asbestos was dangerous and started suing? I’m not taking an opinion on whether or not rubber mulch is dangerous, just that not being sued doesn’t mean anything. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/12 "2009-05-26T12:42:38Z")
The MSDS on cured rubber is GRAS, or generally recognized as safe. Uncured rubber is a bit different. Dog toys made of rubber pass through the system and come out as undigestible matter i.e. they come out as they went in. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/13 "2009-05-26T15:29:23Z")
The biggest danger of rubber mulch is the wire bits from the steel belts in the tires it is made of. It is available in several grades. The playground grade stuff has virtually no wire in it, so if you ponied up the bucks for the right material, there is virtually no danger. As for VOCs, the plasticizers in tires don’t come to the surface if not constantly flexed. This results in “dry rot” on car and trailer tires that sit unused. Basically the surface passivates and stops outgassing in a few months. ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/14 "2009-06-04T23:58:49Z")
This sounds like political posturing, but we’ll see. [Government rethinking playground risks](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090604/ap_on_go_ot/us_playground_safety) ---
**Author:** ![BJ\_More](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@BJ\_More](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJ_More)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/15 "2012-06-29T21:07:56Z")
I did some research and this is what I found. Scary! [http://www.ehhi.org/turf/pr\_rubber\_mulch\_danger.shtml](http://www.ehhi.org/turf/pr_rubber_mulch_danger.shtml) And check this out, extensive bibliograpy from a multitude of sources [http://www.natureswayresources.com/DocsPdfs/RubberMulch.pdf](http://www.natureswayresources.com/DocsPdfs/RubberMulch.pdf) Someone suggested I try recycled rubber mulch they sell at Home Depot. I checked online and even the photo on the HD website shows little wire bits sticking out of the pieces. I can’t imagine using it except in a garden space where you dont walk on it. I think there is a more solid form of reclycled rubber tires used in playgrounds that comes in pretty colours. I WOULD NOT TAKE A CHANCE WITH THE HEALTH OF MY CHILDREN, or even my plants. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/16 "2012-06-29T21:19:54Z")
> [@BJ\_More](#): > > I did some research and this is what I found. > Scary! [Pr\_rubber\_mulch\_danger.shtml | Environment & Human Health, Inc.](http://www.ehhi.org/turf/pr_rubber_mulch_danger.shtml) > And check this out, extensive bibliograpy from a multitude of sources [http://www.natureswayresources.com/DocsPdfs/RubberMulch.pdf](http://www.natureswayresources.com/DocsPdfs/RubberMulch.pdf) > Someone suggested I try recycled rubber mulch they sell at Home Depot. I checked online and even the photo on the HD website shows little wire bits sticking out of the pieces. I can’t imagine using it except in a garden space where you dont walk on it. I think there is a more solid form of reclycled rubber tires used in playgrounds that comes in pretty colours. > I WOULD NOT TAKE A CHANCE WITH THE HEALTH OF MY CHILDREN, or even my plants. Rubber Mulch has physico-sorptive properties. It absorbs the waxy outer layer of zombies causing them to die from dehydration. It’s recommended to place a 6" band of rubber mulch around your property to protect your home from zombie invasion. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/17 "2012-06-30T02:15:47Z")
> [@BJ\_More](#): > > I did some research and this is what I found. > Scary! [Pr\_rubber\_mulch\_danger.shtml | Environment & Human Health, Inc.](http://www.ehhi.org/turf/pr_rubber_mulch_danger.shtml) > And check this out, extensive bibliograpy from a multitude of sources [http://www.natureswayresources.com/DocsPdfs/RubberMulch.pdf](http://www.natureswayresources.com/DocsPdfs/RubberMulch.pdf) > Someone suggested I try recycled rubber mulch they sell at Home Depot. I checked online and even the photo on the HD website shows little wire bits sticking out of the pieces. I can’t imagine using it except in a garden space where you dont walk on it. I think there is a more solid form of reclycled rubber tires used in playgrounds that comes in pretty colours. > I WOULD NOT TAKE A CHANCE WITH THE HEALTH OF MY CHILDREN, or even my plants. Frankly, those websites look agenda-driven. Did you come across any unbiased cites in your “research”? ---
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-danger-or-lack-thereof-of-rubber-mulch/497609/18 "2012-06-30T04:17:10Z")
There’s a company in St. Paul: JJV rubber mulch, that makes it from various non-tire rubber scrap that’s mainly used as playgrounds. There’s zero (not a little) wire and non of the toxins that tend to build up on tires are present.