Table Centerpiece

Parties always consume lots of waste, what with paper and plastic paper goods, party hats, and other paraphernalia. Table centerpieces can be made in a way that is easy, economical, and eco-friendly using coffee bean and pinecones or ferns. Just take a shallow glass dish and pour in a layer of coffee beans. Then add pinecones, small scented candles, and green ferns for a rustic wintry look. Different forms of mulch can also be added to the mix. When the party’s over save the coffee beans for later use and set the pinecones and ferns aside for compost.

Cup Cozy

Running to work, majority of the population enters the office clutching a cup of Joe, with a cardboard cup-holder cradling the cup. Each day’s cardboard holder adds up to a large stack of cardboard that is wasted. You can use old jeans to make a fun, trendy cup-holder that will last through the long winter; its life should be as long as rubber mulch, which is renowned for its long life. Use your last cup-holder as a template to cut out a scrap of denim. You can use leftover fabric to line it, and after sweing the two pieces together, secure the cupholder with a pony holder and a button.

CDs Reinvented

Making the switch to digital media will leave you with a pile of old cds that are now useless. What better way to use them than for decoration? Cut the old cds into squares and use them to decorate anything, such as mirrors, picture frames, vases, and more with mosaic designs. When cutting, you may get irregular shaped pieces. No sweat, you can use them for more interesting designs in your mosaics.

Keychains for Kids

All those old candy wrappers and used snack bags may come into good use in decorating your children’s knapsacks and pencil cases. Simply microwave the used snack bag; then punch a corner with a strong hole-puncher and thread a key-ring through. The result is an adorable keychain that is made of recycled plastic.

In a water playground it is vital that the floor should be of good quality, because a slippery floor could be the cause of many injuries, and a floor that does not drain adequately can become moldy and transmit infectious diseases. The perfect flooring for a splash park is one that is made of rubber mulch.

Rubber playground flooring is extremely shock absorbent, and prevents injuries from falls that often occur in a splash pad. It also has great traction, which can help prevent slipping. The only form of rubber mulch that is suitable for a water playground is rubber bond. Rubber bond is a smooth, clean surface that comes in a variety of colors and has the characteristics of rubber mulch. Its smooth, even surface will not splinter or crack, and best of all, it lasts for years.

A major of pro of rubber bond is that it is poured flush with the ground, eliminating the possibility of tripping. It is best when laid after the playground equipment has already been ordered and installed, so that it is poured directly over the legs of the equipment, with no gaps around poles or other bases. In this way it is also easier to place drainage systems in the appropriate places. One more benefit of rubber bond is that its flat, even surface doesn’t have hills and valleys for water to pool; the continuous flat plane will allow for efficient runoff and draining.

It is important to have a waterproof sealant spread over Playsafer rubber bond, ensuring a floor that is beautiful and functional.

The ADA stands for the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA works to ensure that Americans with disabilities are not discriminated against, and receive fair treatment by employers, and fair conditions in areas of public jurisdiction. Public parks and playgrounds are included in the areas overseen by the ADA, and they strive to provide conditions that are wheelchair accessible and accommodating to those with disabilities. They urge the use of rubber mulch in playgrounds because it facilitates the use of wheelchairs, and the bouncy surface is safer for people with disabilities.

The CPSC, or Consumer Product Safety Commission, is better known than the ADA. The CPSC is in charge of ensuring the safety of all consumer goods, in particular, products for children. They are also in charge of urging companies to issue recalls on products that are safety hazards for children. They are so vigilant that they recently issued a recall on a specific type of teddy bear manufactured by Build-A-Bear because the button eyes tend to loosen and fall out, posing a choking hazard. The CPSC is everywhere; they have also issued a recall on a particular highchair model from Ikea which poses the hazard of children falling out.

Rubber mulch’s seal of approval from the CPSC is perhaps its defining factor, because the CPSC is the gold standard in safety. In order to give their approval, the CPSC tested various samples of Rubberecycle rubber mulch, subjecting it to intense conditions, and testing for dangerous chemicals or components. They emerged with the all clear.

With approval from both the ADA and CPSC, highly regarded government agencies, parents everywhere can rest assured that rubber mulch is truly the safest playground flooring available for their children.

The home that is now for sale for $1.2 million is a wooden, dome shaped structure that resembles a spaceship. Each season, the home is rotated for maximum efficiency of solar rays. The home was built using a kit from France called Domespace, and is the only one of its kind that has been built in the U.S. It is made of honey colored wood and features bamboo floors, with high ceilings and long sloping windows that keep the space bright and airy. It consists of two floors, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, and living space on the first floor. A central spiral staircase leads to a second floor which houses the master suite, office, and balcony.

This may seem an extravagant way to try to go green, but there are simpler ways for the average consumer to keep the environment healthy. Rubber mulch is made out of recycled tires, and is great for use in playgrounds, landscaping, and horse arenas. While it costs a little more than wood chips, many users have found that the rubber pays out for itself within a short time because it is very durable, and needs little maintenance and no replenishing. The average home can be made more eco-friendly with recycled rubber mulch used in the front lawn as part of the landscaping, and in the backyard playground. Using rubber mulch is a practical way that anyone can help the environment without spending $1.2 million.

When digging the hold for your tree it is important that it shouldn’t be too narrow, so the roots have room to expand, or too deep, which doesn’t give the roots enough oxygen. A bare-rooted tree should be planted soon after purchase. The roots of the tree must be kept moist between the times that the tree is bought and planted. You must also make sure that the roots are healthy; prune dead roots off the tree before planting. The tree should be placed on a cone of earth in the center of the hole, around which to splay the roots. The ‘crown’, the area where the roots and the top of the tree meet should be about two inches above the soil. This will ensure that the tree can easily settle.

After planting the tree, it’s time to wait and water. The only other thing you can do is sprinkle fertilizer and other soil amendments around the base of the tree. Depending on the tree species, you may also want to mulch around the tree to protect the soil from the elements. Rubber mulch is a great option for mature trees, as the landscape mulch can play double duty – protecting the soil and providing aesthetic appeal. Check to be sure that the specific tree you are dealing with will take well to the rubber mulch, and doesn’t need pure soil.

Recycled Rubber Bracelets

Imagine that, rubber as jewelry! Uncommongoods.com offers a unique holiday gift for the nature-lover on your list. Rubber bracelets designed by jewelry designer Elizabeth Hake are made from bicycle tires and other recycled rubber. They feature funky shapes and chrome embellishments that are a real statement. The bracelets are well priced at forty dollars.

Rubber Mulch for Playgrounds

Rubber mulch is the latest and best in playground flooring. It comes in the form of chips, or a solid version known as rubber bond. Playsafer rubber mulch is a preferred brand, as it is proven to offer superior playground safety, with extra shock absorbency. Rubber flooring also comes in various colors, is odorless, and does not stain kids’ clothes.

Rubber Pavers

Recycled rubber is also found in the flooring industry in the form of pavers and mats. Tiles made from rubber are durable and water resistant and can be used to easily and cost effectively pave garden walkways, driveways, pool sides, and other areas. Rubber mats are popular for use on decks and in mudrooms. There is much variety in this field, with flooring that interlocks for easy self installation. The rubber pavers come in designs of bricks, octagonal tiles, and much more.

With a large amount of recycled rubber products on the market today, it is easy to help the environment while achieving your personal goals of beautiful products that are also affordable.

Plastic Bottle House

Yup, you read right. The Honduras-based company Eco-Tec is building a series of houses that are constructed from plastic bottles that are filled with mud and bound together with a cement mixture, for construction that is cheap and long-lasting. We hope. A standard plastic bottle house is made of 8,000 plastic bottles, and features rounded designs and architecture. Who would have though your recycled bottles would go toward such a worthy cause?

Recycled Tire House

As of now the recycled tire house looks more like a one-bedroom hut, but this house, like rubber mulch, makes use of rubber tires that are past their prime. The tires are stacked and filled with insulating materials for extremely thick walls. Maybe some time in the near future rubber mulch chips will be used in place of bricks…

Orchid House

The Orchid House is located in England, and is to date the most expensive green house sold, at $14.2 million. It is built with cutting edge designs, and is made to resemble a bee orchid, a flower often found on nature reserves. The Orchid House supplies more energy that it consumes, with a geothermal heating underground pump. Numerous other intricate details make this an ultimate eco friendly house.

Cliff House

Designed to be off-grid, this house is situated right on the precipice of a huge cliff. It features a hybrid wood/solar radiant heating system with propane backup. Other extremely advanced techniques make this home the ultimate in responsible living.

Rubber mulch is known for numerous qualities, but some are wary of the greater initial investment it requires. Playsafer playground mulch needs virtually no maintenance over the years, so it pays for itself fairly quickly. With cheap Black Friday prices, the deal on rubber mulch is too good to pass up. You’ll get the newest and most popular playground surface material at a fraction of the price.

Rubber mulch has made a name for itself on the market with an extra measure of shock absorbency that prevents injuries and promotes playground safety. It also comes in numerous colors for bright and cheerful designs and playground themes. An added perk is that the color lasts for years, retaining its vibrancy, and it doesn’t come off on children’s clothes and hands.

There’s a certain giddy excitement that comes with loading up a shopping cart with high end products at a fraction of the price. Now look for unexpected deals to add to your cart, such as playground mulch. To help you with your shopping, many major retailers release their Black Friday adds prior to Black Friday, so you can plan a route between stores, and decide which store will have the best deals to fit your needs.

The surface materials can be two to six inches deep, and the recipe you use will greatly influence the speed  and endurance your horse will master. Recipes vary, including sand, rubber mulch, silt, clay, and other materials. Tire mulch is fairly new to the market, but many are finding that the extra absorbency it has gives horses an extra bounce in their step, and easier landing after jumps. Horse arena mulch should be mixed with other materials for the correct arena flooring.

The arena should be built on dry, flat, and well draining ground. It is advisable to build a shallow ditch around the perimeter of the arena for good draining of rainwater. Keep in mind that a ditch that is too steep could cause erosion of the base soil during real downpours.

Before choosing a surface material, it is important to have an adequate base. The base is the flooring between the earth and the surface material. It gives stability to the arena flooring, carries off rainwater, and acts as a protection between the earth and the surface material. The base should be hard packed, and carry no loose rocks or stones which can be dislodged by horses’ hooves.

Newer and well maintained houses and grounds will have an easier time cleaning up from the storm. Schools, especially, will try to clean their playgrounds out quickly so that children can benefit from the end of the crisp autumn weather before winter sets in. Superior playground surfaces and equipment will make the clean-up in commercial playgrounds a lot quicker and easier.

In parks and playgrounds that are floored with wood chips, the wet wood absorbs water and easily gets rotten. Pieces of wood break off and dirty the snow, making clean-up virtually impossible until the snow melts. The splinters of wood littering the snow can also pose as a safety hazard for children. Playgrounds that have rubber mulch surfaces, on the other hand, will have an easier time. As a less porous substance, the rubber does not rot or absorb water. The particles that make up the rubber playground flooring are also more dense, so they stay together, as opposed to wood, which gets strewn about by any storm.

School boards and principals should seriously consider installing rubber mulch in their playgrounds before winter sets in,  because this freak October storm is only the first of many. Rubber playground flooring makes clean-up a lot more economical, and keeps children safe.