HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2010-09-10 rubber mulch
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Jay Banks
Urban Forester
jbanks@leesburgva.gov
703-771-2713
Leesburg Tests Rubber Mulch as “Green” Median Solution
Leesburg, VA (September 10, 2010) – The Town
of Leesburg is testing a new “greener” approach
to roadway median maintenance. This week
20,000 pounds of rubber mulch, made from
shredded used tires, has been installed in the
median of the West Market Street exit ramp off
Route 7. Leesburg’s Urban Forester and Public
Works Department partnered on the test
project. If successful, rubber mulch may be
installed in other Town roadway medians.
“The rubber mulch is a good fit for the West Market Street ramp median because it is a high-
traffic area that is hard to maintain,” explained Jay Banks, the Town’s Urban Forester. “The
rubber mulch will do a much better job of suppressing weeds. Weeds tend to grow readily in
organic mulches, but should not be able to get a foothold in rubber mulch. Also, the rubber
mulch should stay put. Rubber mulch does not float away during heavy rains, as wood mulch
tends to do.”
Banks estimated that the 20,000 pounds of rubber mulch installed on the West Market Street
ramp median took more than 1,300 used tires out of the waste stream. The new rubber mulch
cost $3,350 which is three times the cost of wood mulch, but unlike wood mulch, the rubber
mulch will not need to be replenished each year and therefore will be more cost effective over
time.
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