Katy Perry Music Video "E.T." Featuring Rubber Bark™ is Now on the Interwebs!

Woohoo! The time has finally come. Katy Perry's new futuristic music video E.T. featuring Kanye West and Rubber Bark™ is now available for public viewing. Check out the Rubber Bark action™!

MTV noted the video's big budget, and gave the video a good review. It describes it as a spectacle, saying "E.T." is a huge-looking, quick-moving blockbuster of a clip, overflowing with eye-catching special effects, opulent costumes and artfully applied makeup (and Kanye cameos), the kind of production where a plot is basically an afterthought. In other words, it's a Hollywood-level spectacle, a summer smash that just so happened to come out in the early days of spring. It's an event."

We are so happy to have a part in the production of this video. (Disclaimer to parents: There is a scene of brief nudity near the ending and some explicit language) The staff that spoke with Rubber Bark™ during the production was very excited about the project, and, as readers can see from previous posts, was enthusiastic about keeping us informed with pictures and comments.

Rubber Bark™ TDP Testimonial

Below is a testimonial about the wonders of Rubber Bark™ and the CalRecycle Tire-Derived Product Grants. If you haven't checked out the grants yet, they are a great opportunity to jump start your city/county/private playground/landscaping project. 

Hi,

As part of our industry wide outreach to architects who specialize in schools, we have also been presenting the TBAP story to the County meetings of school facility planners and managers.

Today we presented in Alameda County.

During the presentation Lowell Hoxie, Facilities Manager, Sunol Glen Unified School District, comes over to your  Rubber Bark™ display box, picked it up and proceeded to tell the group about how he had used a TDP grant to redo a playground using Rubber Bark from Ag Link, Inc. Both the product and the service were first class, according to Mr. Hoxie.

I can't tell you how great it feels to get that kind of endorsement from the audience, instant credibility for the product, for the industry, and for CalRecycle.

Thanks for representing the TBAP program in such a professional way.

Regards, 

Mike Tinney

Thanks Mr. Hoxie and Mr. Tinney! 

TDP is "first class" 

Rubber Bark™ News on Playground Magazine Website

Our news release about our great new Arizona distributor American Play Systems has been featured on Playground Magazine. Here is the link to the article.

Rubber Bark™ Introduces a New Product!

We at Rubber Bark™ are very excited to introduce a new product for the coming season, which we hope will be full of new playgrounds and landscaping. With the environmental responsibility to use recycled products always in mind, we will be proudly offering Bender Board!

Bender Board used for installing
a concrete patio

Bender Board is exactly what it sounds like, but also so much more! Best for outlining playground areas and landscape borders, Bender Board is made from recycled plastic in the United States. It is resistant to insects and is non-permeable, meaning all of your watering will stay put on your flowers and plants! You can run it over with your lawnmower or use it to create your concrete patio sidewalk.

Like MacGyver, this board is designed to withstand the tough stuff. It's scientifically designed with construction in mind. It includes a 2" slip joint on each end of every piece on Bender Board. The slip joint allows for thermal expansion and contraction, so the board always remains sturdy.

Bender Board used to
outline a garden

As we mentioned earlier, there are many things Bender Board can be used for, and we will be doing another "how-to" post about installing Bender Board for certain projects soon. Rubber Bark™ will  carry 4’ and 20’ lengths of Bender Board in  1”x 4”, 1"x 6”,  and 2"x 6" sizes.  Specific dates to start purchasing and prices are coming soon!

Rubber Bark™ and Delray Tire Featured In Scrap Tire News

Here is a link to the PDF about Rubber Bark™ and Delay Tire teaming up to give old tires a second, or sometimes third or fourth life, in the latest issue of Scrap Tire News.

To see the article in print you can order Scrap Tire News, which comes out monthly, and always has interesting stories from the industry and the world of recycled tires.

Rubber Bark™ Teams Up With Arizona Distributor

Rubber Bark™ is expanding! Below is a press release about a new partnership with all-around wonderful playground and outdoor furniture installer American Play Systems, located in Tucson, Arizona. 


To Meet Demand Rubber Bark™ Announces New Partnership with American Play Systems

BALLICO, CA (March 16, 2011) — Residents in Tucson and Phoenix can breathe a sigh of fresh spring air when deciding how to landscape this season, with Rubber Bark™, one of the largest tire product manufacturers on the west coast, teaming up with Arizona playground heavyweight American Play Systems, to provide quality ground cover by the discounted truckloads.

The new partnership between American Play Systems and Rubber Bark™ transports rubber mulch into Arizonans’ yards with American Play Systems offering and installing the recycled bark.

“ [It’s a] great product,” said Craig Moore, General Manager of American Play Systems about Rubber Bark™.

Moore believes that the partnership will increase “the opportunity to have the product on hand to provide instant service.” 


And the air will be fresher in Arizona this summer, since according to Ag Link, Inc. using Rubber Bark™ decreases your carbon footprint by 88-94 percent over alternative products and ensures old scrap tires are not land filled or dumped on the side of the roads.

 “We are very excited to be working with American Play Systems,” said CFO of Rubber Bark™ Rob Nairn. “We wanted to expand our distributors to Arizona, and we think we found a great partner with American Play Systems.”

The new partnership not only brings the California rubber mulch to Arizona, it also brings savings for its customers, with American Play Systems offering up to 25 percent off a purchase of the mulch.

Rubber Bark™ is made from 100 percent recycled tires. Recently featured on the PBS educational show Curiosity Quest Goes Green, it is also available online at rubberbark.com. For more information about American Play Systems go to americanplaysystems.com.

And here is a synopsis of American Play Systems: 

American Play Systems has been operating in Tucson for 13 years, previously under the name Tucson Play Systems. The company provides and installs commercial playground systems, residential Rainbow Play Systems, permanent shade and ramada structures and site and park furnishings. 

Customer testimonial of Rubber Bark™

We recently received a customer testimonial that we liked so much, we decided to share it with you on the Buzz.

Chuck, from Kern County, had been working on a playground project and decided Rubber Bark™ was one of the missing pieces for his plan. Here’s what he told us once he was finished, “The bark worked out great. My two-year-old grandson loves playing in it and grandma likes the added fall protection. We think it looks great. It really does make the whole project better.”

Chuck saw Rubber Bark™ at the Kern County Fair in California a few years ago, but held off on using it for his playground project until he became a grandpa. As an employee of Kern County Waste Management, Chuck knew he wanted to use a recycled material for his groundcover.

Below is a photo of Chuck’s wonderful new playground. Thanks, Chuck, for giving us a shout out and informing us about your project!

Do you have a story about your Rubber Bark™ experience? Let us know! Contact us at rubberbark@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post.

Scrap Tires, Recycling and the U.S. Mexico-Border

In 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency outlined a plan to increase awareness and clean up the environmental hazards on the U.S.-Mexico border. One of the cornerstones of the plan was to reduce the piles of scrap tires that have accumulated on the Mexico side of the border and have created a hazardous environment for residents.

scrap tire cleanup by the U.S.-Mexico border
source: EPA

According to the Rubber Manufacturer's Association, "The US-Mexico Border 2012 Program signed in 2003 has an objective to cleanup three of the largest tire piles in the border region. However, recognizing the need to take further bi-national action to abate as well as, cleanup existing tire piles, the US-Mexico Bi-national Commission held November 2004, signed a letter stating their intent to draft a scrap tire management strategy to address the border region and all of Mexico. The focus of these efforts is 'to develop and cooperate on an environmentally sustainable, comprehensive scrap tire management strategy.'"

The RMA page also has a lot of useful links to additional resources about this important issue.

So, you may be asking, what does this have to do with Rubber Bark™? In 2009, Golden By-Products, an affiliate company, was one of the few companies, along with Bulldog Rubber and Recycling in Vista, CA to receive loans for buying equipment that aids in the breakdown of the scrap tires for recycling and reusing purposes. Rubber Bark™ has taken the scrap material and made the wonderful, colorful mulch seen in backyards, playgrounds and community centers across the state, and beyond! 

We believe, as a family-owned, environmentally-conscious company that being involved in projects, such as the Mexican border cleanup, is an important role we play as stewards of our environments, including those not within our borders.