Green Mom: Quick Sand

My father built my son a sandbox for his birthday…last July. It is currently sitting in our backyard, empty, because I can’t find sand to fill it. I know you can find play sand at any big box store, but that sand contains tremolite (a form of asbestos) and crystalline silica, both of which are known carcinogens. Some brands have a warning on them because it is required if they are sold in California, which leads me to believe it shouldn’t be sold anywhere. Some research insists it is not the sand that is harmful, it is the dust…but what child doesn’t create dust in a sandbox? I understand that river or lake sand is the best to use, but I can’t seem to find that for sale anywhere (and I’m guessing lugging a trash can to the beach and “borrowing” some from Mother Nature is frowned upon). The few landscaping places my husband called had no idea what he was talking about and tried to steer him in the direction of play sand. They are willing to sell us Mason’s sand, which is a reasonable choice, but they only sell it by the yard, which is far more than we need. A coworker, whose daughter has also had an empty sandbox for over a year, discovered Safe Sand, but it is very expensive so she’s in the same boat I am. Now that the weather is nice, I’m hoping to find something soon so my son doesn’t have to spend the whole summer sitting in an empty box. Any ideas?