Re: Cedar & Cocoa Bean Mulches - now recycled tires

**l*@juno.com**

Some years ago in the next town, an attorney (who was only suspended, not
dis-barred) started a business that chopped up various substances
containing PCBs and Wolmanized wood and mixed them with soil. The
resulting "product" was marketed as "Good Earth" and sold locally as
environmentally responsible. The town he lived in (and surprisingly still
does) bought tons and tons of it to use as fill along a stretch of state
highway. Some commercial businesses were duped into using it in their
landscaping. Fortunately, my own inertia prevented me from buying any --
I actually did want to support a local business that was selling organic
products that were good for the earth.

Luckily for all of us, the DEP caught up with him and shut him down. He
declared bankruptcy, which meant that he simply moved all of his assets
into relatives' names. He never paid a penny of the more than $2 million
it cost to clean up the mess, some of which ended up in my town, as well.
I keep tabs on him because he placed an illegal landfill (also containing
PCBs) on property in my town. 

My message is that, just because someone is selling something, it doesn't
mean it is safe to use. 

Regards,
Lois
Visit http://loisdevries.blogspot.com

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:14:00 -0700 N Sterman
<TalkingPoints@PlantSoup.Com> writes:
> I tried the cocoa mulch many years ago and the chocolate smell made  
> 
> me crazy for the first few weeks until it dissipated.  It is quite  
> 
> expensive and I didn't see any advantage over regular 'ole compost.
> 
> Speaking of mulch, I saw something recently that really alarmed me - 
>  
> recycled rubber tires cut up into chunks, died green or reddish 
> brown  
> and sold by the bag as mulch!
> 
> A petroleum product sold as something that covers the ground?  What  
> 
> happens when it starts to break down and releases petroleum  
> byproducts into the soil, not to mention tiny shreds of rubber?
> 
> While I applaud the effort to find new uses for rubber tires, this  
> 
> one really seems like a terrible idea.
> 
> Anyone know anything else about it?
> 
> Nan
> _______________________________________________
> gardenwriters mailing list
> gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters
> 
> GWL has searchable archives at:
> http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
> 
> Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
> at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos
> 
> Post gardening questions/threads to
> &quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; 
> &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;
> 
> For GWL website and Wiki, go to
> http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters
> 
> 

_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters

GWL has searchable archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters

Send photos for GWL to gwlphotos@hort.net to be posted
at: http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos

Post gardening questions/threads to
&quot;Gardenwriters on Gardening&quot; &lt;gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org&gt;

For GWL website and Wiki, go to
http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters