Recess Time!

A new press release is out about playground safety and playground related injuries. Most injuries could be avoided with a sufficient amount of padding when children fall from playground equipment. 

Presently, most playgrounds still use sand, cement or wood mulch (which doesn't have the flexibility rubber has) as playground flooring. This needs to change! It's so much easier and safer to put in rubber mulch. Check out the release about details on playground fall heights and other tips for a safer playground. 

Less Playground Injuries With Recycled Rubber Flooring

BALLICO, CA (September 7, 2010)— With most schools back in full swing students will once again be playing on playground equipment at recess, which, in turn leads to an increased likelihood in playground injuries due to falls. However, schools and parents with home playgrounds are catching on to safe flooring alternatives to grass, sand, or wood mulch.

Inorganic mulches, such as Rubber Bark™ cushion playground tumbles better than wood mulch or hard surfaces because rubber is inherently a shock absorbing material. Also, rubber mulch doesn’t break down like wood mulch so the safety factor is maintained from year to year without having to add more material.

According to The Consumer Product Safety Commission wood mulch should be at least 12” thick, while rubber only needs to be 6” for the same fall height.

Fall height test results certify that Rubber Bark™ installed and maintained at a 4” depth meets the ASTM standard for Impact Attenuation of surface systems under and around playground equipment from a height of 9’.

In California and other states, The CPSC estimates that there are more than 200,000 injuries every year linked with playground structures. Studies for a CPSC report conclude that most of the injuries occur when a child falls from the equipment onto the ground.

Rubber Bark™ understands the importance of child safety.  Other measures to decrease the likelihood of playground falls include:

-       Protective surfacing should extend at least six feet in all directions

-       Structures, if more than 30 inches high, should be spaced 9 feet apart

-       Remove tripping hazards such as large rocks and tree stumps

-       Spaces such as openings in guardrails and between ladder rungs should measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches

(Source: The Consumer Product Safety Commission)