Poplar Bluff Excel Center playground benefits from state grant

As part of a commitment to recycling and safety, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources provided MERS Goodwill with a grant to cover the use of recycled scrap tires as materials for its playground surfaces. The recycled material, from 100 percent recycled scrap tires generated in Missouri, covers part of the current concrete play area of the drop-in day care center of MERS Goodwill’s Poplar Bluff Excel Center.

MERS Goodwill applied for the grant earlier this year, with additional endorsement from the Ozark Foothills Solid Waste Management District (SWMD). MERS Goodwill’s three Excel Centers, located in St. Louis, Poplar Bluff, and Springfield, offer free preschool services as part of its free adult high school program. Excel Center High Schools serve adults 21 and older and allow them to complete the 24 credits required to earn a High School Degree in Missouri.

Recycling scrap tire material is part of the Missouri Scrap Tire Fee, a 50-cent-per-tire fee charged on new tires purchased in Missouri to fund cleanup initiatives. Up to 45 percent of the Scrap Tire Fee is used annually for playground material grants, most commonly as cushioning or surfacing to reduce the number and severity of playground-sustained injuries. Numerous playground-related products can be made from rubber in scrap tires, including swings, tables, and benches.

The base of the new recycled playground surfacing at the Poplar Bluff Excel Center will be Primo Turf EcoSafe, which are recycled rubber chunks from tires. All rubber is sourced from Missouri and is derived from 100 percent Missouri tires. Additionally, recycling education will now be included as part of ongoing instructional activities used in the Poplar Bluff Excel Center day care, which will be developed in coordination with the Ozark Foothills SWMD.