We Test Our Mulch. Here’s Exactly What We’re Looking For.
There’s real concern online about whether colored wood mulch is safe — and it’s not unfounded. We’ve been making mulch since 1992, and we want to show you exactly what we do to earn your trust.
If you’ve searched “is colored mulch safe” recently, you’ve probably come across some alarming reading. The concern centers on manufacturers who use demolition debris or lumber treated with chemicals like creosote or CCA (chromated copper arsenate) in their mulch. When those chemicals leach into soil, the consequences are real: harm to plants, soil organisms, and the people and pets who spend time in the yard.
The concern is legitimate. UMass Amherst and the Ontario Urban Forest Council have both documented contamination in products from suppliers who don’t scrutinize their wood sources. Although the EPA banned CCA for residential use in 2003, treated wood from old decks, fences, and industrial structures still circulates — and can end up ground into mulch.
The dye itself, by the way, is rarely the issue. Researchers are consistent on this point: it’s the wood source that determines whether colored mulch is safe, not the colorant. Our dyes are water-based and contain no harmful chemicals — but we don’t expect you to take our word for it.
Three layers of protection before mulch reaches your yard
At J.A. Rutter, quality control isn’t a single step at the end of production — it’s built into every stage of the process.
Every supplier who brings wood to our facility must read and sign our Dump Agreement before a single piece of material is accepted. It spells out exactly what we will and will not take for use in our colored wood mulch.
Every incoming load is dumped on a dedicated asphalt sorting pad. Our staff scrutinizes each load and rejects anything that doesn’t meet our standards — before it touches production. The same scrutiny applies to material coming in through our pallet wood and green wood recycling programs.
Every month, samples of our wood mixture are sent to an independent laboratory and tested against Pennsylvania DEP safety parameters for 17 potential contaminants.
“In all the years of monthly testing, the majority of these substances are non-detectable or present in trace amounts significantly below safely accepted levels.”
— Jayme Matkozich, J.A. Rutter Co.These 17 substances cover everything regulators and researchers have identified as potential concerns in recycled wood products. The Pennsylvania DEP sets the acceptable thresholds; we hold ourselves to those standards every single month, year after year.
The honest answer about colored mulch safety
It depends entirely on the manufacturer. That’s not a hedge — it’s the truth. The concern about contaminated mulch is real, and it exists because not every producer does what we do. Our vendor agreement, sorting pad, and monthly testing program exist precisely because we know what can go wrong when those safeguards aren’t in place.
“My dogs have been munching on mulch in our backyard since we began manufacturing the product back in 1992. If you know what massive animal lovers we are, you know we would never put anything that would harm them in our products.” — Jayme Matkozich
We’ve also been open about products we chose not to make. If you haven’t read why we never made rubber mulch, it’s worth a few minutes — it tells you a lot about how we think about what goes into the landscape.
Prefer to skip colored mulch entirely? We have options.
If you’d rather go fully natural, our mulch line has you covered:
- Natural Bark Mulch — single or double shred, continuously decomposes to feed your soil.
- O38 — organic conditioner and stand-alone mulch made from leaves, grass clippings, brush, and stumps. No animal waste, no food waste.
- Economulch — from our organics line, ground from brush, grass, leaves, and stumps.
Have questions? Browse our FAQ or reach out to our team directly. Everything we make is locally sourced, produced, and processed — and we’re always happy to talk through what’s right for your project.
No comment yet, add your voice below!