Rubber has gotten a bad rap from critics, but true to its nature, it has a way of bouncing back. Concerns about discarded tire accumulation have prompted a rubber recycling renaissance since 1991, when the EPA first began promoting use of recycled tire material for playgrounds and sports turf as a way of combating waste.
But in recent years, some safety advocates have raised health concerns about potential side effects of recycled crumb rubber turf. The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries has countered by pointing to 75 studies which confirm the safety of crumb rubber within U.S. standard exposure limits, and American and European organizations are meeting in December 2015 to discuss standardizing global recycled rubber specifications.
This controversy will undoubtedly continue, but meanwhile, recycled rubber continues to display an impressive range of practical applications, making it one of the unsung heroes in the green revolution.
Some of the top uses for rubber today are:
1. Construction and Civil Engineering Projects
2. Using Recycled Rubber for Clothing such as Purses, Shoes, and Bags
3. Rubber for Tracks and Turf
4. Rocket Fuel from Rubber (Commercial spacecraft company Virgin Galactic returned to using rubber-based fuels for its SpaceShipTwo craft this month, illustrating one of the most exciting uses of recycled rubber.)
For more information on the exciting uses of Rubber, please see: http://www.thechicecologist.com/2015/11/recycled-rubber-tires/