Recycled rubber material replaces sand as base for playgrounds
at city parks
The sand at local Hollister parks will soon be replaced with a
recycled rubber material made from tires.
The city of Hollister received a grant from the Integrated Waste
Management Board for $150,000 to purchase the material from West
Coast Rubber Recycling, a Hollister-based business. The parks to
get the upgraded material include Tony Aguirre Park, John Z.
Hernandez Park, Dunne Park, Las Brisas Park, Frank Klauer Park and
Valley View Park.
Recycled rubber material replaces sand as base for playgrounds at city parks
The sand at local Hollister parks will soon be replaced with a recycled rubber material made from tires.
The city of Hollister received a grant from the Integrated Waste Management Board for $150,000 to purchase the material from West Coast Rubber Recycling, a Hollister-based business. The parks to get the upgraded material include Tony Aguirre Park, John Z. Hernandez Park, Dunne Park, Las Brisas Park, Frank Klauer Park and Valley View Park.
“Basically, (it’s) all the parks that aren’t associated with schools,” said Clint Quilter, Hollister city manager.
The city council approved Quilter to sign a contract with West Coast Rubber Recycling at the Jan. 18 meeting, based on a competitive bid process completed by the San Juan-Aromas School District.
“The biggest thing with the grant is tires are a problem to get rid of,” Quilter said. “We used it (the rubber material) in our treatment plant. It was used in landscaping areas in order to keep the weeds from growing.”
Quilter cited other benefits of the material such as it being cleaner than sand.
“Needles and cigarette butts don’t get stuck in it,” he said. “Cats don’t use it as a litter box.”
City crews will begin work on the parks soon, since they have to be completed by March 31.
“Our city crews will go out and will coordinate to get the sand out, and prep the sites,” he said. “(West Coast Rubber Recycling) will deliver and install the materials.”
Quilter talked to staff from the San Juan-Aromas School District and other places that have used the material.
“There are not a lot of places that do it,” Quilter said, of firms that make the rubber material. “We are kind of fortunate to have them here.”
Willard McCabe, the superintendent of the San Juan-Aromas School District, said the district has been upgrading their playgrounds from sand to rubber for two years. The playgrounds at San Juan School are complete, with one more playground at Aromas School, which will be completed next year.
“In the past we had a sand base under our playground,” McCabe said. “After it rains, sand sets up and has almost a concrete feel. The rubberized material is no problem at all if kids fall down. That’s what our motivation was all about – safety.”
McCabe said the students are enjoying the surface.
“It’s a real comfortable surface,” he said. “It’s easy to maintain.”
The school district received a grant for the material, but used volunteers to swap out the sand and prep the sites. They planned a volunteer day using the Disneyland promotion, “Give a Day, Get a Day,” where volunteers received a one-day admission to the park in exchange for their volunteer work.
“I just feel fortunate that we were able to get a grant that would allow us to put a material like that in place at really no cost to the school district,” McCabe said. “It’s a great partnership for our community and ultimately benefits the students.”
