Forestry Resources Features a Product Line that is Safer for People and the Environment

Monday September 8, 2003

Melaleuca Mulch Provides Gardeners and Landscapers
With An Arsenic-Free* Mulch Product
Certified Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) Free
Forestry Resources Features a Product Line
that is Safer for People and the Environment

FORT MYERS, Fla.  (Sept. 8, 2003) - Recent studies and reports are highlighting a problem with the mulch used in children's playgrounds and landscaping projects.  Mulches made from recycled pressure treated wood can contain high levels of arsenic, a known cancer-causing agent.  This arsenic may contaminate playgrounds or leak into the soil and groundwater surrounding a home. 

Those concerned about using these types of mulch products can find an alternative from Forestry Resources.  The company features a product line derived from melaleuca.  The end result is arsenic-free* mulch. 

Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA), the most common chemical treatment for wood, contains arsenic.  As this wood ages and is replaced, it is recycled, and in some instances chipped for use as landscaping mulch.  A study by the University of Florida and the University of Miami revealed 18 of Florida's top producing mulch companies are using this recycled wood to make their products.   According to the Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste, the amount of arsenic treated wood to be discarded is equal to 216,000 miles of two by four's, or the equivalent of 590 Lake Okeechobee's.  

Forestry Resources provides an arsenic-free* alternative, and has for more than 20 years.  FloriMulch, a melaleuca mulch product, provides an environmentally friendly solution offering a number of advantages over other types of mulches.   Forestry Resources offers three different FloriMulch products.  Each one is derived from 100 percent melaleuca, is not treated with CCA or any other non-organic chemical, and is completely non-toxic. 

FloriMulch, the leader in the melaleuca mulch market, provides a number of features based on its core component - melaleuca.  It serves a practical use of controlling weeds, reducing watering, and protecting roots.  In addition, recent studies suggest it is termite resistant.  Preliminary research conducted at the University of Florida suggests termites survived better and consumed more mulch made up of pine and cypress sapwoods.  However, they did not survive with a strict melaleuca diet. Furthermore, FloriMulch is the only melaleuca mulch product earning a state certification as nematode free. 

Melaleuca mulch provides additional benefits as an environmentally friendly product.  Melaleuca is a non-native tree that was introduced to in the 1920's as a way to dry up the Everglades.  Because of its quick proliferation, it destroys native vegetation.  Today, it is illegal to plant new melaleuca trees, but it still grows.   Forestry Resources created the FloriMulch product as a method of eliminating this evasive tree and finding a practical use for it.  Melaleuca mulch is an environmentally friendly alternative to cypress mulch.  The enormous amounts of cypress mulch produced each year threaten the survival of this native Florida tree important for flood control, wildlife habitat and water purity.  All FloriMulch products feature an endorsement from The Friends of the Florida Everglades, leaders in the crusade to save the National Park's native environment. 

FloriMulch is already the mulch of choice for many counties and cities throughout Florida when it comes to providing surface cover in parks and playgrounds.  The melaleuca mulch product provides an important buffer between children and possibly contaminated soil and is fully certified for shock absorbing qualities in accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials safety standards.   In addition, FloriMulch PlaySafe is ADA compliant and allows wheelchair accessibility where other playground material separate and become unstable.  It is also a clean alternative to sand. 

Not all mulch is created equal!  Forestry Resources also carries a line of non-melaleuca premium shredded colored (red, gold, eucalyptus blend) mulch.  These products do not contain any pressure treated lumber or reconstituted woods.  Furthermore, all coloring agents are environmentally safe pigments and are Material Safety Data Sheet approved. 
Forestry Resources, based in Fort Myers, Fla., is celebrating its 20th anniversary as the innovators in melaleuca mulch production.  FloriMulch is available in two-cubic feet bags and bulk.   To learn more about Forestry Resources, FloriMulch and the benefits of melaleuca mulch call, 866-GO-MULCH, 239-334-7343 or visit www.gomulch.com.  Consumers looking to purchase FloriMulch can contact their local garden and home improvement store for details. 

* According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Arsenic occurs naturally in harmless trace quantities in all living things, including plants and soil. Thus all mulch and soil products will contain some traces of this natural element.  EPA information and  independent laboratory testing on our products are available upon request.