Renewable Source

Although some natural rubber is used in products today, most rubber is a highly engineered, sophisticated material requiring large amounts of energy for its initial manufacturing. Synthetic rubber is formulated to resist wear and degradation, remain permanently resilient and unaffected by moisture, absorb sound and impact, and maintain a high coefficient of friction whether it is wet or dry.

So when millions of rubber tires are thrown into landfills, a tremendous amount of embodied energy is literally going to waste. It has been estimated that seven gallons of crude oil are needed to produce just one car tire, and there are literally millions of waste tires in landfills today. The resistance of rubber to decomposition presents an additional problem, making waste tires into a virtually permanent hazard.

Although recycled rubber flooring is primarily comprised of discarded tire materials, it can also be made of other recycled materials, such as plastic bottles, and used rubber flooring reclaimed from a previous application. In a recent example, some advanced athletic surfaces are actually being manufactured from discarded athletic shoes.

In the most sustainable flooring products, a low-energy manufacturing process is used, requiring minimal water and low heat, and reusing in-line scrap to decrease waste. Scrap tire is ground, screened, and stray particles like stone, wood or fiber are removed to create a clean, consistent high-quality rubber crumb. Rubber crumb has been studied extensively and found to meet very high safety standards that are even suitable for applications like children's playgrounds (see the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital case study).

Service Life

Recycled rubber flooring begins its service life with installation using no-to-low VOC urethane adhesives, without the need for heat welding. These floors are also easier to maintain than other common flooring products, requiring only minimal routine care. They do not require the extensive and repeated high-VOC sealing necessary for some flooring products. Instead, new “green” sealing done as part of the manufacturing process is available with some products, making them even more impervious to dirt and stains even with heavy use and dramatically reducing maintenance needs over the life of the floor.

Maintenance is an important and often overlooked aspect of a material's overall cost both in dollars and environmental impact. Obviously in healthcare settings, where healthcare associated infections are a critical problem, surfaces have to be as clean as possible. Maintenance for most common flooring surfaces often requires harsh chemical cleaners, frequent re-sealing, daily or weekly buffing to remove scuff marks and stains, and frequent replacement of floors. In an example from schools, a recent study by the Florida Dept. of Education on flooring operations and maintenance costs found that with some materials, operation and maintenance costs were almost the same as replacing the entire floor each year and some schools were doing just that. Replacement was easier to budget for than extensive maintenance. This alone would probably negate any sustainable benefits from other aspects of the buildings.

For recycled rubber flooring, specially formulated Green Seal™ certified cleaning products are available to reduce environmental impact from VOC-intensive chemicals and fumes over the floor's service life, typically 15 years or longer. Extended durability also contributes to sustainability by avoiding the need for tearing out, disposing, transporting, and re-installing new material.

Waste Management and Reclamation

Recycled rubber products result in very little waste. Throughout its life cycle from manufacturing to the construction site, overages and scraps can be reground and reprocessed for new flooring. Innovative new “take back” programs are being established by responsible manufacturers who are reclaiming used floors to be made into new floors.

Low to No VOC Throughout

Another important aspect of a material's environmental impact is its volatile organic compound (VOC) profile. VOCs emitted from building products and materials not only pollute the air and degrade the atmosphere, they also have adverse effects on the health and comfort of people inside those spaces throughout the product's service life. As mentioned above, the manufacturing process for the most sustainable recycled rubber products use low heat processes that release minimal VOCs, and can be installed using zero-VOC, low odor one-component adhesives. Cleaners and sealers are also low or zero-VOC and meet stringent South Coast Quality Air Management District (SCAQUMD) and GreenSeal criteria.

The flooring products themselves do not contain formaldehyde, which can release high levels of VOCs in conventional flooring products. Recycled rubber flooring's positive contribution to healthy indoor air quality meets the highest criteria, including those established by:

• The State of Washington (the most stringent in the U.S.)
• Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria (section 01350)
• FloorScore third-party certification program.