By John E Weare, Keep Alliance Beautiful
ALLIANCE, Neb. - Shipping containers huddle on the south end of the Keep Alliance Beautiful Recycling Center building. A couple contain “treasures” that we have yet to bring out of retirement or finally part with forever. The other is destined to open with the changing of the seasons. At KAB we know spring is – really – here when the first person calls to buy a bag of rubber mulch.
The lucky member of the KAB crew to meet the eager gardener, possibly landscaper, wiggles a key into the temperamental padlock, pulls a bevy of handles and pushes open a stout steel door. The scent of slightly musty tires says this is the right place as he looks behind a forgotten tote of textbooks at pallets of mulch that all look the same color in the dim light.
Selling rubber mulch has been a venerable fundraiser at KAB over the years. The upcoming growing season will be the third year for the current batch. Get your bags while they last! Sales support unforeseen expenses and smaller projects that may not have been covered by grants.
Made from recycled tires, KAB is proud to close the loop and promote a circular economy. We have assisted with tire amnesty opportunities in recent years where the City of Alliance has collected hundreds of tons of tires to be recycled. As an alternative to wood mulch, this product is heavier and more likely to stay put, lasts longer and has colors that won’t fade for years.
However, demand varies with some shipments selling out by fall the same year. I think the timeframe with our current supply may have to do with many people not needing to replace their original mulch and others yet to try the product. We will evaluate whether to continue sales once this inventory is gone. That begs the question: Is it an efficient business model for a Keep America Beautiful affiliate to both accept/prep recyclables and sell 100 percent recycled products?
Mulch has been reasonably profitable overall, competing well with similar products locally. To add a second item or replace mulch in a targeted fundraiser would mean finding a fairly unique item sure to have a market in our area. We acquire plenty of material that could be fashioned into something useful, such as pallets and licktubs. That would mean having our crew or a third party making that “sure thing” to stoke the rainy day fund. Importantly, we do not employ sales staff to win over customers. Mulch sells itself (almost). We just ask: how many bags and where do we stack them?
Rubber mulch has been a good fit. Perhaps better marketing and securing a few large projects will herald another shipment for 2027. Until then a similar fundraiser will be part of brainstorming sessions though I would not expect to drop off a bag of bottles and find a boutique at the recycling center full of shirts and other apparel woven with 100 percent recycled plastic fiber any time soon.
For information about rubber mulch, including color and quantities available, call the KAB office at 308-762-1729.