Liberty Tire gets rubber turf certified

ERJ staff report (TB)

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - Liberty Tire Recycling L.L.C. has achieved Greenguard Synthetic Turf Certification for all eight of its plants in the U.S. and Canada, reports Tire Business.

The certification is earned from the Greenguard Environmental Institute, an independent organization that focuses on improving public health and quality of life through programs that reduce chemical exposure and improve indoor air quality.

Products receive certification after undergoing testing by Greenguard to ensure they meet a series of strict chemical emissions standards based on established criteria from key public health agencies, the company said.

Liberty Tire's crumb rubber plants in Western Rubber, British Columbia, and Lockport, N.Y., were recently certified. The company earlier achieved certification for its synthetic turf infill manufactured at its other plants in Calhoun, Ga.; Braddock, Pa.; Salt Lake City; Des Moines, Iowa; Port St. Lucie, Fla.; and Brunner, Ontario.

Liberty Tire Recycling provides crumb rubber to synthetic turf manufacturers and installers nationwide for material that is likened to the "dirt" of a natural grass system, the company said. Recycled rubber is an integral part of synthetic turf systems at all levels.

Greenguard certification sets requirements for chemical emissions, lead content and heavy metal migration that are certified by independent laboratories. The certification is based, in part, on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, European toy safety standard criteria for heavy metals and the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment's Chronic Reference Exposure Levels for volatile organic compounds.