Turf Wars

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

We've been asked in the past of our opinion on synthetic turf, and I don't always know what to say.

On one hand, it reduces maintenance costs, provides for year-round playability (keeping kids active), provides padded surfaces, reduces water and pesticide use (as does using integrated pest management on a natural field), improves drainage, and no conclusive research seems to exist showing a connection between artificial turf and chronic or acute health issues. Of course, researchers have identified lead in some artificial fields, but at levels that would not be considered unsafe.

On the other hand, there are real concerns: The heat island effect can raise temperatures on a synthetic field to unsafe levels, synthetic fields are made with materials that contain toxic chemicals and there are many unknowns around these types of exposures. There have been no real tests as to levels of off-gassings of VOCs and, of course, synthetic fields have higher upfront costs.

In short, more research has to be done on what these exposures really mean to children. In the meantime, given the choice, I'd prefer my son to play on a natural grass field. I wouldn't prohibit him from playing on synthetic, but given the choice, I would encourage my school use a natural grass field.

This past weekend I was able to run around on a new synthetic field for the first time. I must admit, it was easy on the knees, it looked great, and in the light drizzle, the kids were able to continue to play because of the excellent drainage. But it did have an odor of playing on rubber. I just want my son to enjoy the outdoors, and playing on synthetic turf just doesn't seem like the outdoors to me. As soccer mom Beatriz Salgado said, "In the summer, you can really smell it. It smells like tar."

Comments

[Artificial turf]

It is true that synthetic grass products can get hotter than natural grass lawn. However this is usually only a consideration in the height of summer. Yes, this has been a long, hot summer but synthetic grass certainly does not get as hot as paving, another popular alternative to natural grass. The Green Planet Grass product range also includes ‘Cool Grass’ which is up to 25% cooler than other synthetic grass products. We believe that some accounts of the heat retention of synthetic grass are overstated as few people walk on (even natural) lawns on hot sunny days.

[Mark Bishop]

Interesting points and I'll be curious to look into the 'cool grass' products. However, my son has been playing tee-ball at a field in Chicago with a two year old artificial grass field. It's a beautiful park, the turf feels great on the knees and the kids love it. But I'll stand my concerns that it smells like rubber and it does get really hot in the summertime. This past weekend was a scorcher, and the kids paid for it on that field - and the real grass field next door was much cooler. Again, I'm not keeping my son out of the games, but given the choice, I'd still prefer real grass.