West End Happenings November 2003 2003 National Recycling Congress Monroe County Wins by Closing the Loop! Close the Loop, LLC a Monroe County Internet based business filling a niche market for recycled products was awarded the "Best Use of Recycled Products" at the National Recycling Congress Expo in Baltimore, MD. The award was presented to Rita Lacey, founder of Close the Loop, LLC on September 16, 2003. "I truly believe there is no better use for waste tires than turning it into a playground safety surface. The worst thing about tires is they don't go away, which is also the best thing about tires when they're used for playground safety." states Rita Lacey. Research has shown that 75% of injuries occurring on playgrounds are caused by falls to the surface below. To date, Close the Loop is responsible for 800 tons (or 80,000 tires) being reused as a protective surface for playgrounds and horse arenas across the nation. The manufacturing process is so good these days that the rubber mulch is 99.9% or greater wire free and providing critical fall heights of 10-12' when installed at a 6" depth. Once this mulch is installed, you never have to do it again. It doesn't freeze in winter, so in northern climates, children are safer year-round playing on this material. Besides rubber mulch, Close the Loop supplies a wide range of unique, high quality recycled products, gifts and promotional items. Their newest products include 100% recycled plastic decorative post & rail fencing (locally manufactured & will never rot) & recycled Garden Glass, made from old jelly jars, wine & beer bottles, etc, which gets crushed & tumbled into sparkling pieces of glass that can be used for decorative landscaping, fish ponds, aquariums, even as aggregate. Close the Loop also works to educate the public about the benefits of recycling and reuse through their interactive "Magic of Recycling" show, which has been presented to thousands of school children throughout Monroe County. The goal of these shows is to encourage the public, especially children to care about our environment's health and realize that their individual actions are important to maintaining that health. In addition to teaching the children to care, Close the Loop helps to increase consumer awareness & confidence in buying recycled and build markets for these products. Recycling success is not determined solely by the amount of materials collected but also by the amount processed and reused in new products and materials. |
