./   Environmentally Beneficial Landscaping
                                                                              Story
                           These Tires Were Made for WalkirY

    Los Angeles County, California, has recently discovered the beauty and utility of old tires.
    Plagued by 10 million waste tires a year, the county has successfully saved landfill space by
    recycling tire rubber into pathways, playground surfaces, and flooring tile throughout its district.

    The project began in 1999 when Los Angeles County partnered with Sears Auto Center to
    sponsor its first of many waste tire collection days, encouraging residents to recycle old tires
    free of charge. The county transported more than 500 waste tires collected that day to a
    recycling facility where they were shredded into crumb rubber. This practical material was
    turned into a playground mat for Arnold Elementary School in the city of Torrance. Not only did
    the new playground material offer superior protection against falls, but it reminded students and
    teachers every  day of the benefits of recycled products. The county was so pleased with
    Arnold's playground material that it installed crumb rubber mats into two other elementary
    schools later in  the week.

    More recently, in 2001,  the county undertook a large-scale project to further display the benefits
    of recycled rubber. The county used more than 1,100 old tires to resurface walkways, outdoor
    floors, and bases of exercise equipment in the Earvin "Magic" Johnson Recreation Area of South
    Central Los Angeles.

    Scattered throughout the recreation area are 12 exercise stations, including pull-up and monkey
    bars and sit-up  and push up benches, all used regularly by park patrons.  Many exercisers
    expressed displeasure with wood chips beneath the equipment, prone to flooding and drainage
    problems  during heavy  rainstorms. The county addressed these concerns by replacing the
    mulch with pour-in-place crumb rubber,  making the exercise stations accessible  in inclement
    weather and considerably safer. The crumb rubber surface, made from 330 tires, covers nearly
    1,300 square feet and provides a flat, slip-free surface with excellent fall protection.

    The Senior Citizen Outdoor Shelter is located along the main walking path in Earvin "Magic"
    Johnson Recreation Area and serves as a shaded resting place for weary walkers.  Los Angeles

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United States Bivironmental Protection Agency
Cffice of Solid V\feste and Emergency Response (5306\Ai)
EFW30-F03-026
July 2003
www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/green

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county installed 3,000 square feet of rubberized flooring tiles throughout the shelter and on the
adjacent shuffleboard court, using 300 tires that would have been landfilled. The county also
paved a portion of the previously dirt Sam Jones Path with rubberized asphalt. Not only did this
upgrade utilize an additional 500 waste tires, but it extended the life of the path, as rubberized
asphalt is more durable than conventional asphalt.

Now that it has discovered the benefits of recycled rubber, Los Angeles County plans to continue
promoting the use of waste tires in many future projects, helping to increase the post-consumer
value of old tires throughout the country.

For more information, visit:
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