Will Wood Chips Become Obsolete?

[Natman]

Hi all,

I was looking for wood chip playground areas today and came across what I thought to be one at a nice park..I got my detector out and started walking toward it..as I got closer I found out the floor of the playground was made of a rubber material and recalled several others like it as well.

I began to think that it was a good idea and looked much neater at the more well-maintained parks, but what a downer it would be if all the schools and parks followed suit in the near future, making the wood chips of today obsolete.

Do you think it's only a matter of time before there's no more mulch/wood chips at our school/park play areas?

Nat

 

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[Lasivian]

Hard to say. Mats are more expensive and have to be replaced when they wear out so i'm guessing someplaces will still have wood chips or sand in their playgrounds for cost reasons.

 

[BioProfessor]

This is just a possibility.

I am now in Amsterdam and thought I could fill some time by detecting in one of the many parks around town. They are big and have lots of play places for the little ones. In Holland, the standard practice is to put the kiddie playground equipment on SOLID CONCRETE or on 4x4 foot concrete squares. Monkey bars on concrete?? Yep, that's the way they do it. They may have a sand pile (sand enclosed in a circular cement pit with 12" sides) but the rest is concrete or stone. Think you're gonna find anything there?

I think it is this way for 2 reasons. One reason is the lack of liability lawsuits. If you fall off the monkey bars and break your arm. It is your fault for falling. You don't sue the monkey bar company, the company that put them in, the park and city for allowing them to become to slick to hold, the concrete company that installed the concrete slab, the concrete manufacturer for making it too hard, etc. etc. etc.

The second reason is cleanliness. They like their stuff clean here and it is much easier to sweep the areas in and around the equipment if it is concrete. No hidden dog poop. No old candy bars. Nothing.

In the good ole USA, it may be an issue of either concern or response to a lawsuit of a kid getting punctured by a sharp piece of wood, infectious material in the woodchips, whatever. They replace the chips with the mats and the manufacturer of the mats has to take the legal responsibility of their product and safety.

Just what may be going on.

Daryl
Digging in Amsterdam

 

[Stacylee926]

A couple of weeks ago I detected in my first pile of rubber stuff..
Awesome! Very easy to work in - plus the coins were not all gunked up and dirty!

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

A couple of weeks ago I detected in my first pile of rubber stuff..
Awesome! Very easy to work in - plus the coins were not all gunked up and dirty!

Are we talking about two different types of rubber
surfaces here?

Rubber sheets, ( Natman ), and cut rubber, (Stacylee926).

Have seen both. Only in about 5% of play lots around here.

Could be a problem.

all have a good un..........
SHERMANVILLE

 

[Ant]

I don't think so. I've seen rubber mats, inflated rubber mats with vents, rubber pellets and shredded rubber. I hate when I spy and plot a way to get into a prospective site without attracting much attention just to find one of the above conditions waiting for me. Rubber pellets and shredded rubber can be hunted if it's not to deep.

Lots of cities use chips because chips are a byproduct of some of their public works department operations and almost free.

HH

 

[Natman]

Lots of cities use chips because chips are a byproduct of some their public works department operations and almost free.

That's a good point, it's cheap and easy to replenish.

The second reason is cleanliness. They like their stuff clean here and it is much easier to sweep the areas in and around the equipment if it is concrete. No hidden dog poop. No old candy bars. Nothing.

That is a good point as well..some of the wood chip areas have to be constantly replenished, if they're not they tend to collect all kinds of hidden hazards (glass, shards of aluminum, etc.) and also get pretty gross after awhile..the ones that haven't been maintained around here have weeds growing through them and these huge blobs of mold that are very unsightly..the rubber matting wouldn't have that problem and would be very durable to the elements for years.

Are we talking about two different types of rubber
surfaces here?

Yeah, I was talking about the solid rubber "floor". It looks great and adds to the look of the entire play area..I think it's actually a softer cushion than those harder and bigger pieces of wood chips (not talking about the shredded dark brown mulch) and would break falls better, at least it seems that way with the ones here.

I just couldn't help but think that if the look and functionality of the rubber matting catches on, it would be the end of the wood chips as far as a great place to search. Hopefully that won't happen for a long time.

Nat

 

[Gypsy Heart]

I hope wood chips are deleted because of the continuing mold problem...its a big deal here in Wisconsin. Rubber...I hate....it makes the playground extremely hot for my kids....I like sand....nice clean sand.

 

[txkickergirl]

Ditto on the sand, but cats tend to see it as a huge litter box. The parks around here have been shreaded rubber tires, and pea gravel or sand. The only one I have found that was wood chips was a recycled kind and it had lots of iron and nail scraps in it. Drove me crazy, couldn't detect, and then crazier because I wouldn't want my kids to play there and get cut by some rusty junk.

 

[Natman]

The only one I have found that was wood chips was a recycled kind and it had lots of iron and nail scraps in it. Drove me crazy, couldn't detect, and then crazier because I wouldn't want my kids to play there and get cut by some rusty junk.

I hear you..after all, the wood chips weren't put there for us, the kids' safety should be the priority issue.

I like sand....nice clean sand.

I like the sand very much as well..if you ever dropped a coin in it to see what happens upon impact you'll know why..it disappears instantly. I enjoy hunting the volleyball sand pits for that very reason.

Those small brown pebbles are good too, I find lots of stuff in those.

HH,
Nat

 

[ktreffin]

In my community I have seen several different set-ups:

1) Most of the playgrounds around us are still using wood chips (mulch). This is great as it makes for really easy diggin...

2) I have seen the rubber mat installed in one neighboorhood (kind of an upscale neighboorhood). However it was only installed under the "jungle gym" section. Around the swings there was wood chips. I would think that the reason for this would be the youngsters draggin their feet when swinging. Seems like it would only be a matter of time before it gets worn through.

3) In my actual sub-division, the HOA put down chopped up recycled tire. Just like wood chips but they are rubber chips. Diggin' in this was absolutely great, even better than the wood chips.

So I think that communities are investigating other materials but I don't think you will see wood chips go away completely. I think that cost alone will determine what is used.

HH!

Ken

 

[diggummup]

In my area,many of the tot lots have/had sand.Now,many of them are being replaced with fake grass or turf.Seems like an expensive alternative to me but hey i'm just a taxpayer.
When I was a young child at the age of 5 or 6,I fell from the top off a metal diamond shaped monkeybar kind of thing at the playground.Broke my arm and knocked out a tooth in the process,life went on.
If that happens nowadays I reckon my parents would be able to sue for damages. People have become soft and sue happy.I'm surprised they use wood chips still at all.I mean god forbid little Johnny should jab his eye out or something with a piece of wood.
There should be signs posted-play at your own risk,with a disclaimer in fine print at all playgrounds/tot lots. JMO

 

[Dimeman]

I don't think the wood chips will entirely go away. Too many dead trees to grind up and find uses for.
Some of the center esplanades are getting lots of woodchips around the new trees being planted.
I think the shredded tires and gravel stones and rubber mats are just alternate tests to see how those hold up to useage.The gravel stones are easy to hunt in.I like them better than the woodchips.

I haven't had the pleasure of hunting any shredded tire or rubber mat areas as of yet. But there probably will be some in parks in the future, around here.

 

[dfxdude]

My observation is that those that have shredded tires in them are hotter than he** if it is a sunny day. If outside temp is 80 degrees, then the rubber play surface is about 110. It probably helps thaw them out in the spring for us up north in the frozen tundra of Minnesota, Dakotas or Wisconsin. But I would think some kid might be burned if air temps get up in the 90's or they may stay away entirely. Less traffic, less stuff to be lost and less for us to find. I stopped at a small town in Oklahoma a couple of years ago and they just put down shredded rubber and it was hot on my feet just walking on it. Imagine kids that are barefoot. I can't see using that down in Texas, or Arizona in the summer time.

 

[TreasureTales]

When I was a little girl, we were lucky if our jungle jims had sand at their bases -- usually it was hardpacked earth. We survived. Now I see all the stuff being used to cushion the fall of the little kids -- makes them weenies in my opinion.

I bet the rubber mats and shredded tires will remain in use and even gain in popularity until some hoodlum decides to test the flammability of the material. I can see it now, a huge fire spewing noxious gases. That would put an end to the mats and the tires. It'll happen some day, probably here in California first...then no more rubber.

The thing to do is to try to determine the next playground fall-softener and invest in the company that makes the stuff. How about a playground covered in minced tortilla chips? Nah, too many rats with that. OK, maybe airbags. I think airbags might be next, and seatbelts on the big kid swings.

 

[strike it rich]

it seems standard practice in the UK to just top up on the old woodchips when I detected there found £10.90 in the new stuff the first 5inch's the old stuff turns to black and breaks down there must be hundreds there as i got signals from at least 7+" down

 

[dahut]

I doubt well see woodchips fade soon. Rubber in any form is not very eco-friendly, even when recycled - which is a big concern these days. I predict a hybrid scenario, where woodchips and sand mingle with the rubber.

My vote? Sand!