Trail of Tires

By M. Power | 11/29/2009

Recycled paving products not only address the staggering problem of discarded automobile tires, they tread lightly on the landscape.

While writing a story on polymer roofing last month, I learned some sobering facts about automobile tires. About 270 million of them get discarded in the United States each year, and very few get shredded and melted down for reuse. As a result, I consider almost any product that manages to reuse EPDM (crumb rubber) from old tires as a green crusader. That’s why I chose a product made by Rubbersidewalks [LINK: http:/

], a company based in Fountain Valley, Calif., as this month’s featured favorite. The company has created a couple of attractive rubberized sidewalk systems made with 100% recycled waste rubber.

These products have several environmental advantages over concrete or asphalt sidewalks. For one thing, they weigh half as much, so they’re easy to set. They also qualify for several LEED points (see list in our specs, left), for recycled content, and other features. Tiles also are modular. They can be lifted and moved later, to allow for care and pruning of urban trees.

But perhaps what’s most impressive is the company’s philosophy. Its EZ-Brick spec sheet notes that they will exchange used product for new ones at the plant, and that “any product deemed no longer serviceable will be 100% recycled into newly manufactured product. No EZ-Bricks will end up in landfill or be incinerated.”

That’s a gutsy pledge, and a commitment to doing the right thing that’s seldom heard around corporate board rooms.—M. Power

Made from 100% recycled waste rubber, Terrewalks (in reflective gray, above left) and EZ-Bricks (above right) both qualify for multiple LEED points and offer an attractive landscaping option for builders.

Specifications