One of our customers is in the green – recycling that is! When they came to us to discuss a tag application for identifying their products, we had no idea that they were an industry leader in collecting and repurposing motor vehicle tires. By finding practical, eco-friendly applications for discarded tires, this company is ridding our roadsides and landfills of a terrific amount of polluting waste – almost 1.5 million tires a year!
Operating coast to coast, their tire collection services feed their processing plants that shred and grind rubber into a variety of sizes. These crumbs wind up making millions of pounds of rubber for applications such as door mats, pavers, adhesives, railroad ties and speed bumps. Rubber nuggets are also used as an alternative energy source for industrial kilns, mills and power plants.
Of course we now commonly find recycled rubber used as weather, bug and fade-resistant mulch for playgrounds and landscaping. A good layer of rubber mulch can cushion the landing off a jungle gym twice as much as wood mulch for considerably less money and with no significant health or environmental risks. Crumb rubber is also used on sports fields and running tracks, as well as for horse paddocks and trails―providing an extra bit of bounce in the process!
Most importantly, rubber is recycled into rubberized asphalt―providing a paving material that is longer lasting, less expensive and more environmentally-friendly than petroleum-based asphalt. As the largest single market for ground rubber in the US, rubberized asphalt leads to less road maintenance and safer, smoother and quieter vehicle travel. In addition, we’ve learned that because rubber cools faster than asphalt, it also helps lower the heat on our roads and in urban areas.
What our customer needed was a durable tag to identify their bags of rubber crumbs and nuggets. We suggested our 428 Yellow Tear-Resistant Plastic Tags that are perfect for outdoor applications up to one year. The bright yellow color stands out really well and the material is perfect for the abuse that piles of bagged rubber get. Their stock turnover is obviously tremendous, but should they ever need tags to perform for a longer periods of time, we have a 2-Year Outdoor Durable Yellow Vinyl Tag waiting on the sidelines that is proven to withstand the same tough conditions including temperature changes and moisture.
