Recycled Rubber—The Three R’s of an Eco-Friendly Floor
If you’re a parent, or if you know any kids—through family or friends, go ahead and ask them about the three R’s of environmental conservation. Most kids will jump right up and tell you that the three R’s stand for Recycle, Reuse, and Reduce! This is the core of what children are taught when it comes to the conservation of both the environment as well as precious resources, like water, energy and materials. From a young age kids are being taught about the importance of recycling bottles and paper, of turning lights off when they’re not in use, and finally of how to reuse goods once they have served their original purpose. That’s why you’ll see kids reusing milk-cartons as flowerpots and making kazoos out of toilet rolls.
With the use of recycled rubber you can help instill the values of environmental consciousness in your children—be it at home, at school, or even in your workplace. But with or without kids to chide you into being more aware of your carbon footprint—an eco-friendly floor can still be a great addition to nearly any space, both indoors as well as outdoors. Many of these flooring options, such as green floor tiles and mats, are also very easy to install making them great DIY projects.
In case you’re still not certain that green flooring options are right for you, then allow us to present to you the 3 R’s of conservation in direct relationship to rubber products!
- Recycle
According to Earth911.com, “approximately 300 million used car and truck tires are generated in the U.S. each year… With at least 25 percent of scrap tires being landfilled each year…” Unfortunately, tires that end up in landfills will take many years—centuries in fact, just to break down. The main material source within a rubberized eco-friendly floor is recycled rubber derived from reclaimed tires. Now, some people may frown upon the idea of using “trashed” materials in their homes or workplaces—but if really think about the true resilience of this source material it’s hard to turn up your nose at these products! Tires are designed to stand up against the ever-changing environments that are encountered on the road
—such as constant exposure to sunlight, excessive moisture, snow, and rough terrain. It really is easy why this tough material is used in green flooring options for indoor as well as outdoor applications.
- Reuse
There aren’t very many flooring options out there that lend themselves to being reused. Concrete, once it’s poured and dries can only be removed with the use of heavy machinery and has to go through an extensive process before it can be recycled and reused—and that’s only if its free of contaminants. Other options like linoleum can tear due to strong adhesives, along with hardwood floors that can break while being removed. With products like green floor tiles, mats, or runner’s, installation and removal is easy! A rubberized eco-friendly floor can be taken apart and reinstalled in different locations quite a number of times—making that the product itself reusable!
- Reduce
Because recycled rubber surfacing is so easy to pick up and move you can effectively reduce your use of materials by avoiding having to purchase multiple flooring structures. So for example, if you install green floor tiles in your home and then you decide to move—your tiles can go with you! Rather than having to purchase new flooring, which means more industrial consumption of water, energy, and materials, you can save money while also doing your part in the conservation of resources. Also, due to the ease of installation (and depending on the product), when your flooring suffers eventual wear and tear the whole thing won’t have to be replaced. Some areas are just bound to see more foot-traffic, and they can be individually replaced rather than doing away with perfectly good portions of flooring that might not get so much action.
Regardless of whether you’re trying to impress the kids in your life with your savvy knowledge of the 3 R’s—or if you genuinely want to make an environmental impact for the better, the use of green flooring options are the right choice.
