She Made Millions With Old Tires

In 2001, outraged at seeing 26 trees marked for destruction in her Gardena (Calif.) neighborhood because their growth was damaging area sidewalks, Lindsay Smith, a Hollywood screenwriter, unwittingly became an activist and an entrepreneur, soon launching Rubbersidewalks. "These were healthy, mature trees that were being destroyed because the city couldn't afford to repair the broken sidewalks," she says. "We weren't even given the opportunity to weigh in on the choice."


Smith went into action. "It turns out this was a really big problem," she says. And not just in her neighborhood. According to Rubbersidewalks, 330,000 miles of U.S. sidewalks are damaged annually. Moreover, many municipalities simply cut down the trees because it has become too costly to constantly repair the sidewalks.

After doing some investigating, Smith got a grant from the state of California to do research on using rubber pavers as a substitute for concrete sidewalks. Smith spent two years in R&D, eventually coming up with a product made entirely of recycled rubber tires.
According to Smith, Rubbersidewalks have been installed in 60 cities across the country and Canada. She says she's gotten requests from metropolitan centers in Asia, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand as well.



What Company Is Offering:
Rubbersidewalks are more than a product, they are a new approach to sidewalk maintenance and tree preservation.Rubbersidewalks is a sole source product, conceived and developed by Rubbersidewalks, Inc. for the public right of way and landscaping applications, marketed and manufactured by Rubbersidewalks, Inc. Rubbersidewalks modular sidewalk system has been tested and proven effective for use in public right of way (sidewalks, walkways, tree wells), and proven beneficial to the health and maintenance of urban trees. Rubbersidewalks, Inc. is a small, and woman-owned, California business.


How It Works:

Rubbersidewalks are high-density paving tiles made with recycled California tire crumbed rubber combined with polyurethane binder and colorant, then molded with heat under compression. This produces a strong and durable part that meets all requirements of sidewalk-worthiness, including stable grade, non-vibration in compliance with ADA requirements, and high coefficient of friction for non-skid both dry and wet. Rubbersidewalks are available in various sizes and colors, and are reversible. Known life per face is minimum eight years. Actual life per face is not known but is expected to exceed 12 years.
Rubbersidewalks can be lifted for periodic tree root trimming and replaced at a fraction of the cost of concrete repairs and replacement.Rubbersidewalks allows long-term sidewalk/tree root maintenance. Rubbersidewalks introduces the concept of modularity. Tripping on uplifted concrete can cause injury and lawsuits.

More at: http://www.rubbersidewalks.com/