AUTHORITY AIMS FOR CARBON NEUTRAL PLAYGROUND

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A chance conversation between the chairman of Playtop Limited and the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council is now the basis for what could be a unique partnership between the public and private sector to look at new ways of promoting recycling and the use of sustainable materials in play surfacing.

The idea first came to light at the end of 2006 when Nottinghamshire County Council attended Playtop’s headquarters in Newark, Nottinghamshire. Councillors and employees from the council were invited as a part of Playtop’s celebrations following receipt of the Queen’s Award for International Trade in 2006.

Charles Lawrence, the chairman of Playtop, raised the issue of working more closely together on  projects and highlighted the work that Playtop’s sister company, Charles Lawrence International, undertakes in the field of recycling commercial vehicle tyres. It is granulate produced from these tyres that is used in Playtop’s surfaces, making them a great example of a sustainable building product. 

Charles said; “I asked Nottinghamshire County Council to let us have their old commercial vehicle tyres and in return we would recycle them and supply them back as impact-absorbing play surfaces for Nottinghamshire County Council playgrounds.

“They loved the idea – using the council’s old tyres to create safer surfacing for children within Nottinghamshire.”

Then in January of this year the ideal project came up and Playtop was invited by the council to discuss a project planned at Bowbridge Primary School – a school just down the road from Playtop in Newark. The council plans to construct a flagship building using sustainable and recycled materials. The long term goal is to minimise the environmental impact of the project and ensure its footprint is carbon neutral.

Playtop’s use of recycled materials, its locality to the school and its vast experience will help bring the council even closer to achieving its aims. Much of the Playtop surfacing that will be laid at Bowbridge Primary School will have a recycled content of 93%. Also the local sourcing of materials cuts down on emissions from plant and vehicles that will be used to transport the materials to site.

In addition, Playtop has called on its partnership with Nike, the global sportswear company, to add a further environmental angle, as recycled trainers will also be incorporated into the surface. Every square metre of Playtop which incorporates Nike Grind, contains rubber from approximately 20 pairs of trainers and one commercial vehicle tyre. Using rubber granulate from tyres and trainers in this way prevents it ending up in already overflowing landfill sites.

Cristina Gonzalez-Longo, Nottinghamshire County Council’s architect for the project, said; “The Council has long advocated the procurement of recycled materials and it is one of the few local authorities that has a dedicated Sustainability team.

“What appeals about Playtop is the fact that it is made from nearly 100% recycled materials and so therefore fits nicely within the Council’s environmental agenda.”

Playtop’s partnership with NikeGO, Nike’s corporate social responsibility programme, also provides a fund for giving back to communities in deprived areas. As Playtop is a member of the scheme and the materials used will be from sustainable resources, the NikeGO fund will be contributing 50% of the value of the play surface.