Alternatives to Plastic Tarps for Cob Mixing

Hi everyone, my fiancé and I are hosting a cob workshop this coming October, and I'd really like to find an alternative solution to buying, ruining, and sending to landfill a bunch of plastic tarps! We used tarps on our most recent workshop and it was very depressing to see how quickly they deteriorated. Our intention is to move towards hosting natural building workshop that are entirely plastic free, so this is an important step to figure out.

Presently, I'm thinking that a sturdy, tightly woven 100% cotton canvas material is the ideal alternative for the tarp mixing method. This type of canvas is used to make wall tents so I'm assuming it is very strong. It would hopefully last much longer than plastic tarps, potentially for many years, and would be fully biodegradable at the end of its life cycle. I am thinking of ordering a large roll of this type of canvas and cutting it into 8x10ft pieces and doing a strong hem on the outside edges.

Does anyone have experience using canvas or any other natural woven material as a plastic tarp alternative for mixing cob batches? Or do you have any other creative plastic-free suggestions for cob mixing by foot? We are not interested in moving towards making cob my machine at this time. Ok, thank you for your input!

Hi Molly, I have used canvas, old carpet, and tarps for mixing. The problem with the canvas is the same as the carpet, they get pretty heavy with water by the end and break down fairly quickly.

I know using plastic isn't always nice, but if you can get your hands on some vinyl billboards they will go a really long way. I got some free from a local advertising company that are approximately 12x24 feet which makes 3 or 4 really nice stomping tarps. They are still in use even after three years of cobbing on them as they are much stronger than the cheap woven blue tarps.

I can tell you here in Australia tarps are not used.
I have seen that make it a bit easier if your are doing things in small batches by hand.
If you just use a hole and have people stomp it like crushing grapes or use earth tillers or paddle mixers that are used with plaster.
So study alternatives to your procedures.
good luck