Yes, it has great benefits in that it has been found to provide playgrounds a safer playing environment when children fall on it but…
We’re not gonna sugarcoat it for you. WE HATE rubber mulch.
It’s stupid and it stinks — literally. On a hot summer day, it smells like hot tires. Don’t know about you, but Eau de Goodyear is not a fragrance we enjoy in our gardens or landscapes…ok, we know you MotorHeads/NASCAR fans might like it. Unless you enjoy the scent of tire shop wafting off your gardens then please don’t use it.
Second, colored mulch looks terrible. Not just rubber mulch, all colored mulch. Using those terrible colored mulches tells everyone you don’t care about quality or aesthetics. Plus it leaches dye and other nasty stuff into the landscape and your home.
Third, natural mulch slowly decomposing over time is a GREAT thing. Adding organic matter to the soil loosens it, increases nutrient and water retention, and feeds earthworms and beneficial soil microbes.
Fourth, rubber mulch has been found to be the preferred mulch for female and nymphal stage cockroaches.
Finally, rubber mulch isn’t an earth friendly choice. Like everything else, it does break down, and when it does, it leaches a witch’s brew of heavy metals and toxic chemicals into the soil and ground water. Rubber mulch is also a fire hazard — it burns at a much higher temperature than natural mulches and releases highly toxic smoke.
So forget rubber mulch. That extra cost & bounce it puts in your step simply is not worth it. We recommend American Grade A All Cedar Mulch or any natural non dyed mulch.
