It contains hazardous and toxic chemicals that do considerable damage. Once the mulch is laid down, the chemicals will leach into your soil, and destroy its health – along with damaging your plants! It can't be tilled into your soil. That means you'll be pulling weeds by hand.
It is abundantly clear from the scientific literature that rubber should not be used as a landscape amendment or mulch. There is no question that toxic substances leach from rubber as it degrades, contaminating the soil, landscape plants, and associated aquatic systems.
Disadvantages of Mulching
Although using mulch has many benefits, in some cases, its use can be detrimental to the garden: TOO much mulch (a layer more than 3 inches deep) can bury and suffocate plants; water and oxygen can't reach the roots. A layer of 2 to 3 inches of mulch is ample.
In hot, sunny weather, rubber mulch gets hot. Rubber mulch absorbs the heat of the sun. On a hot summer day, the mulch also gets hot — sometimes, uncomfortably so for children.
The process involves coating shredded rubber chips in a non-toxic colorant that's safe for both children and pets. High-quality rubber mulch colors are created using UV-resistant pigments that ensure the color stays bright and attractive for years, even under harsh sunlight.
While other mulches are typically replaced annually, rubber mulch can be counted on to do its job in your garden for ten to 12 years. This key benefit to investing in rubber mulch outweighs its other benefits, especially if you are worrying about the high cost of gardening materials and maintenance.
This guideline recommends that immediately over the hard surface there should be a 3- to 6-inch base layer of loose-fill (e.g., gravel for drainage). The next layer should be a Geotextile cloth. GroundSmart™ Rubber Mulch should be installed directly over this layer.
Unlike wood mulch, rubber mulch used in landscaping doesn't attract termites, carpenter ants or other harmful wood destroying insects so it's the ideal mulch for use around buildings, foundations, and wood structures.
If you live in a climate with hot summers, avoid using rubber mulch around seating areas where you don't want the smell of hot rubber. Worse yet, this mulch can leach heavy metals such as aluminum, zinc, cadmium, and chromium into the soil and eventually the groundwater.
There are several products that should never be used as mulch: sawdust, wood shavings and un-aged wood chips. As these materials begin to break down, they consume large amounts of nitrogen, depriving surrounding plants of this vital nutrient.
Mulching is great for your lawn for a number of reasons. Whether you are mulching leaves or returning lawn clippings back into the lawn, mulching saves time, money, labor, and it is a great soil amendment. There is really no need for raking, bagging, or hauling away either leaves or clippings.
The best option for mulching your landscape will depend on your preferences, budget, availability, plants, and more. But, generally, using organic mulch made from wood chips or bark will be the best choice.
As the rubber breaks down over time, the rubber adds toxic contaminants into the soil. Research shows the rings can slow tree growth, turn tree leaves yellow and increase tree mortality. Also, if you live in an area prone to wildfires, you absolutely want to avoid rubber mulch.
Rubber mulch provides excellent drainage for the soil and supplies great insulation against harsh weather. It also allows a higher degree of heat to be maintained in the soil as well as maintaining its moisture levels. Wood mulch, however, can starve plants.
The Environmental Protection Agency has studied rubber mulch and found it to be a safe material, posing no health hazards to pets or people.
Getting all the little rubber pieces out of the soil in your flower bed is a huge pain. You may even have to remove the top layer of soil to get them all out of the ground. On the other hand, organic mulch will decompose naturally, so you don't have to worry about getting it all out of your garden.
Mulch Tests: Rubber stacks up well against wood
It can eliminate the need for annual mulching, since rubber doesn't break down as wood does; it's heavy enough to stay put; and you can use less of it to control weeds--you need about 1.5 inches of rubber mulch compared with about 3 inches of wood mulch.
Among these options, pea gravel is the most economical choice, offering a cost-effective surfacing solution. While rubber mulch may have a higher initial purchase price than pea gravel, its long-term benefits and reduced maintenance costs can offset the initial investment.
A place that landscape fabric is highly recommended is under non-decomposing products - such as river rock or rubber mulch. Those materials do not break down, therefore do not create a future problem. They actually help keep the landscape gravel from sinking into the soil and needing replenishment as often.
* Artillery fungus won't grow in rubber mulch, and you won't run into bug or termite issues either. On the other hand, I've seen mushroom-like fungi growing on rubber. Bug concerns in wood mulch – especially termites – are overblown. * I've heard it both ways on the odor issue.
How do I clean rubber mulch? Leaves and small branches can be blown off the surface with careful use of a leaf blower. The coating does not stain or absorb odors from urine. GroundSmart™ Rubber Mulch's color can be freshened with the use of a mild detergent and a power washer on a low setting.
Although it may not be a pleasant smell, it's certainly not toxic. As previously mentioned, the strong smell that rubber mulch has when it first comes out of the bag will dissipate after a couple days of being out in an open-air environment.