Rubberosion – Solutions Minded, Forward Focused

Colorado-based Rubberosion (RE) is gearing up for the spring 2021 by introducing new and dynamic products

The Renegade Rumble strip is already needed on jobsites this wet and muddy spring, while newly launched CORE rubber mulch can beautify or spruce up any landscape or playground.

The Renegade Rumble Strip is a new and inventive erosion control device that minimizes the amount of sediment and mud that is tracked onto a road by a vehicle from a construction site. Practical and sustainable, the Renegade Rumble Strip, unlike other manufactured vehicle tracking control devices, is designed to allow each individual strip to be replaced or repaired. The ability to repair and extend the life this product makes it extremely economical and because it is modular and mobile, with the capability to add strips together length wise or width wise, the Rumble Strip is adaptable to any job site, Rubberosion President Rick Welle said.

The Renegade Rumble strip compliments another RE vehicle tracking control device—the Eco Vehicle Tracking (EVT) Mat— which incorporates recycled rubber components. Both products serve the same purpose to minimize mud tracking but each product offers a different price point and job site applicability.

The Eco Vehicle tracking pad is for light weight to medium duty vehicles and equipment and is a cost effective temporary BMP (Best Management Practice) with an approximate lifespan of 6-9 months. In the home build market that means the Eco Vehicle tracking pad can be used on 2-3 home builds, Welle said.
The Renegade Rumble Strip can handle light weight vehicles up to heavy equipment and is a temporary to semi-permanent BMP. The Renegade is very robust for use on heavy traffic job sites and because it is also repairable if a component is damaged, it is highly reusable.

The recycled rubber strips act as an agitator in both products. Also, the flexibility and durability of the recycled rubber strips give the EVT mat and the rumble strip significant performance advantages in the field, Welle said.

The Renegade Rumble Strip and the Eco Vehicle Tracking mat have received approval from the Colorado Department of Transportation (C-DOT). Currently, another Rubbersion product, the Sedi-mat, is in field review with C-DOT seeking an APL (Allowance Parts List) number and specification. Rubberosion has also received approval for the use of their products at Denver International Airport, and Ronald Reagan International Airport in Washington D.C.

Rubberosion has worked very hard over the last eight years in developing quality products made from recycled tire material that service the erosion control and stormwater industry. It has not been an easy road. Getting a new product, especially one that uses recycled materials, accepted by the marketplace, is a long, tedious, expensive and hurdle-filled process,” Welle said. “Each potential customer, whether a public agency or industry contractor, requires your product to be tested and/or trial demonstrated, have certain approvals, third part certifications or more, ” he said.

Erosion control devices made from recycled tires were definitely outside the box of thinking for this industry. It took RE a few years to breakdown reluctance in the erosion control and stormwater industry to use tire derived BMP’s. Starting with its flagship product Rubber Wattles, Rubberosion has sought the approvals needed for each product and each end use market while promoting the adoption of tire rubber derived BMPs.

Among the new products set to launch this Spring, Rubberosion has been working with another environmental BMP company in developing the Hercules Eco Block. The Hercules Eco Block recently completed 18 months of field testing and pilot projects and will be in commercial production early this summer, Welle said. It gained local approvals quickly. Based on its high performance level, the City of Aurora, Colorado, has approved use of the Hercules Eco Block in city projects, he said.

“Tire rubber derived BMP’s have great value in water quality control applications, however, more outreach and education is needed to eliminate past negativity and misinformation about tire derived material,” Welle said.

As tire derived products have gained approvals they have also gained the support of local and national construction and infrastructure supply companies. With specifications and approvals these products can be sold and distributed through the traditional channels of construction goods. For Rubberosion, the support of distribution partners has been huge as the presence of its products and the sales network that promotes our products grows, Welle said.
Rubberosion is also proud to introduce CORE rubber landscape mulch and playground material to the marketplace. “ CORE rubber mulch is a nice addition to the suite of Rubberosion products and is compatible with our work in erosion control, drainage and stormwater management,” Welle said. The company recently completed the addition of a paint plant to its Hudson, Colorado rubber products manufacturing facility to accommodate the CORE rubber mulch line.

Over the past two years, Rubberosion has been building out its manufacturing and production capabilities at the Hudson plant with the addition of molds and a press for both of the vehicle tracking products. TRC/Salvadori was a key partner in developing, engineering and installing the molds and the press, Welles said. “Rubberosion and Salvadori were able to work together during the unusual circumstances presented by the COVID 19 pandemic, which limited travel and the amount of people we could work around,” Welle said. Together, we were able to complete an entire design, build, installation, and commence commercial production all via virtual conferencing with teams in Italy, Ohio, and Colorado, he said.

In 2020, Rubberosion was awarded the Closed Loop Economy and Market Development Grant by the Recycling Resources & Economic Opportunity group, a market development entity within the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. This grant allowed RubbErosion to grow by installing and operating a custom coloring plant and a hydraulic molding press. It also allowed Rubberosion to concentrate on approvals and specifications for the product suite. These approvals have led to market development, job creation, and consumption of more waste tires, all within a closed loop network. “Programs like this have a monetary value, however, to a small business or a start up these grants are priceless,” Welle said.

© Scrap Tire News, April 2021