There’s this unfortunate "low bidder" mentality in the playground equipment and surfacing industry. Far too often, manufacturers cut corners and don’t deliver quality, lasting products, especially surfacing materials. Simply put, many surfacing companies do not use the highest quality polyurethanes in rubber-based materials. So for example, the result is that the top layer of an EPDM surface, which is supposed to be 3/8 of an inch in thickness, ends up at 1/4-inch after only about a year. This will downgrade the surface’s ability to cut down the force of impact if a child falls, an obvious safety concern. Similar corner-cutting also goes on with construction contractors who lay playground foundations and equipment footings, which aren’t poured according to specification requirements with a minimal amount of concrete. This results in unstable playground equipment after not much time in use. SBR tiles are another extremely noticeable example of the “low bidder” phenomen...
The Safe Child Campaign is the only leading organization dedicated to the “Collective Safe Play Environment” that is safe, innovative and rewarding to our children. We educate, train, advocate, and certify. We build alliances and partnerships with the community to provide a superior learning environment for our children. We are engaged in a broad range of children safety issues, concerns and lobby to change federal and state laws to protect our children.