PLATTE COUNTY, Mo. (Aug. 26, 2008) — Welch Products Inc. has signed an agreement to provide its DuroMat “Extended Life” tiles to four playgrounds at two elementary schools in Platte County.
According to Welch parent company GreenMan Technologies Inc., Welch's National Safe Surfacing Initiative will install 18,000 square feet of recycled rubber safety tile at the playgrounds. Overseeing the work will be the Missouri Playground Compliance Group, a partnership between NSSI and the Missouri School Board Association, GreenMan said.
The Platte County playground project is the largest of its kind ever in Missouri, according to GreenMan. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is partially funding the project through its Waste Tire Grant Program, the company said, though it did not give a dollar value for the contract.
Missouri charges a 50 cent fee on every new tire sold in the state to pay for scrap tire projects. As of June, the state had cleaned up 15 million tires since beginning its scrap tire program in 1990, according to the Missouri DNR.