Contractor’s Report
to CalRecycle
35
Market Category/Sub-
Categories
Barriers
RAC and Other Paving
Financial
– Specialized heating and blending equipment is needed by
batch plants and chip seal contractors to use RAC, limiting use to
larger project sizes and contractors with the required equipment.
Policy
– Caltrans is not required to use ground rubber from California
in RAC. At least one Caltrans district has reportedly moved away from
RAC to polymer paving materials.
Educational/Institutional
– Local governments are not exposed to
the product or are loyal to their current suppliers and techniques.
Economic
– Some report that there is a shortage of waste truck tires,
which is a preferred feedstock for ground rubber used in RAC.
RAC and Other Paving
Turf and Athletic Fields
Pour-in-Place
Playground
Mulch/Bark
Economic
– The economic downturn has impacted local
governments’ budgets, delaying projects. Moreover, stimulus money
that had funded some projects is now exhausted. This may also put
RAC at a disadvantage when compared to traditional paving products,
due to its higher up-front costs, despite the fact that long-term costs
are generally lower.
Turf and Athletic Fields
Loose-Fill
Playground/mulch
Pour-in-Place
Playground
Molded and Extruded
Other
Technical
– Lack of industry standards and specifications, testing
protocols, and accessibility of testing equipment complicates quality
control/quality assurance efforts, especially for molded-extruded
products and rubber-plastic compounds.
Turf and Athletic Fields
Loose-Fill
Playground/mulch
Pour-in-Place
Playground
Financial/Research
– High up-front costs are more than for
alternative non-tire products; long-term product performance and life
cycle costs have not been documented by independent agencies. This
can make it difficult for consumers to justify the cost of installing such
products over “traditional” products.
Molded and Extruded
Technical
– Inherent characteristics of the material limits its usability
as a feedstock.
Technical
– Lack of superfine ground processing within California that
is required to manufacture some products.
Economic
– Competition with lower-priced imported products can
make it difficult to compete in the marketplace.
Financial
– Inconsistent financial benefit to feedstock conversion, as
benefits depend upon price fluctuations of other materials, e.g., oil,
etc.; processors have not invested in production capacity for ultra fine
rubber due to unproven demand.
Molded and Extruded
Mulch
Turf and Athletic Fields
Other
Economic
– Trucking transportation costs heading east are relatively
costly (economic transportation is available, however heading back to
California from produce delivery backhauls). This makes it challenging
to sell products or tire-derived material cost effectively in neighboring
states.
