One Florida parent wanted to avoid burnt feet, scraped knees, bugs, and hassle when setting up their child's playground. They turned to Reddit for answers about the perfect ground cover.
The original plan was to lay the ground with light-colored rubber mulch, but the parent's neighbor informed them that the Florida sun can still heat light-colored mulch to dangerous temperatures. Additionally, the child does not like bugs, so wood mulch has been vetoed.
Conflicted, the original poster asked, "Is rubber mulch really that terrible of an idea in Florida?"
Someone who said they used to work in a park services role noted in the comments that heat from the sun can fuse rubber mulch and recycled tires together. The ground cover option is literally a hot mess.
Another commenter mentioned that artificial turf is infilled with microplastics, as confirmed by Beyond Plastic, and recommended rewilding or planting natural grass to keep the play area soft. This same Reddit user informed the OP that rubber, including that recycled from tires, contains cancerous petrochemicals.
A study from the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine reported that workers who deal with rubber have a high chance of developing cancer.
The Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, per a New England Journal of Medicine analysis, said that exposure to petrochemicals harms consumers and the planet as well as factory workers.
The recommended natural lawn is healthier for the environment and requires less upkeep than rocks that could grow weeds or dangerous turf and rubber.
Backyard play spaces for children, while often necessary for their endless energy and imaginations, can be difficult to manage. Setting up commercial kits is typically a breeze, but there is no instruction manual for what to use to cover the ground under the playset.
The commenter said, "Well, I would do the most environmentally friendly option."
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They also recommended that the OP double-check that the playground is safe for the environment and children. "I bought a tent from Walmart that said it was sprayed with Tris, and that stuff caused children to lose limbs back in the 20th century," they warned.
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If you were to switch from a grass lawn to a more natural option, which of these factors would be your primary motivation?
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