According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), falls to the playground surface account for nearly 70 percent of all injuries. Such injuries can be reduced with a shock-absorbing playground safety surfacing. Read below to learn about the different playground safety surfacing options available:
- “Loose-fill” material such as engineered wood fiber, sand, pea gravel and other bulk materials is one option for your playground surfacing. This option has the least expensive upfront costs and is easy to install, but loose-fill requires more maintenance to meet CPSC guidelines.
- “Loose-fill” material such as engineered wood fiber, sand, pea gravel and other bulk materials is one option for your playground surfacing. This option has the least expensive upfront costs and is easy to install, but loose-fill requires more maintenance to meet CPSC guidelines.
- Resilient tiles, like TuffTurf® or other factory-engineered materials, provide a guaranteed critical fall height value and require little maintenance. Such playground safety tiles are mainly used for wheelchair access paths and high wear areas because of cost considerations.
- Poured-in-place rubber surfaces are available in a wide variety of colors and shapes. These surfaces are usually more expensive, but are durable and require significantly less maintenance than other playground surfacing options.
- PebbleFlex® bond-in-place surfacing system is an extremely durable playground surfacing option. With cushioned layers of recycled rubber and foam, the life (including impact attenuation) of PebbleFlex surfacing is extended well beyond traditional poured-in-place surfaces.
Once you've assessed all playground surfacing options, contact your local Landscape Structures playground consultant to get started.