Real grass was introduced to North America by the early settlers in order to feed grazing livestock. Later, green lawns came to represent the American dream of living in an orderly, desirable neighborhood with a manicured lawn. We’ve come to learn that real grass replaces diverse habitat for wildlife and is a non-native monoculture that requires fossil fuels and toxic chemicals for upkeep. In his article on lawn replacement last month, Jim Gunshinan also pointed out that grass is a thirsty crop. It requires about 50% more water than other plants to stay green.
When artificial turf was invented in the 1960s as an alternative to real grass, it was an intriguing concept for athletic playing fields, playgrounds, and golf courses. Now it is increasingly becoming a popular option for residential lawns. You can have the perfect looking lawn in your choice of grass length and shade of green without the hassle of having to mow, fertilize, reseed or water it. Does artificial turf have any virtue with regard to sustainability? Let’s explore the pros and cons.
Water Usage Supposedly, for every square foot of real grass replaced with artificial grass, you can save 55 gallons of water per year. For a 1,000-square foot lawn, that translates to an impressive 55,000 gallons of water for your lawn. Fake turf may not need water to grow, but it does need water to manufacture, and once it is made, there are many environmental impacts. Up until 2016, Los Angeles actually gave rebates to homeowners for replacing their lawns with artificial turf but revised their policies after learning it reduced the amount of rainwater that would normally soak into soil, thus preventing groundwater from recharging. Rainwater also leaches chemicals from turf, and this runoff makes its way into storm drains and out to the Pacific Ocean, which harms human and environmental health. This year, California signed SB676 into law, indicating that turf is no longer an acceptable form of drought-tolerant landscaping.
Effects on Wildlife The immaculate appearance of turf comes at a cost to wildlife. Plastic lawns disrupt the delicate balance of ecosystems. When artificial lawns are laid, they remove the fertile topsoil and seal the underlying soil with plastic, restricting access to burrowing insects and ground dwellers such as worms, which negatively impacts the food web. Native, drought-tolerant plants support biodiversity and provide food and refuge for beneficial critters such as ground-feeding birds, moths, and bees. Natural leaf litter and plant debris is important for feeding microscopic organisms and keeping soil healthy. You may recall Kimberly Lam’s article "Leave the Leaves," which explains how fallen leaves and natural groundcover are essential to the survival of moths, butterflies, snails, spiders, and arthropods. Our domestic companions prefer grass and the scents of nature as well. When dogs have to use fake turf as their bathroom, it can start to smell like urine. Animal excrement doesn’t decompose well on artificial turf, making it a breeding ground for bacteria.
Chemicals Allergy sufferers may appreciate that turf has no pollen and does not require pesticides, however, let’s not forget that artificial turf is a petroleum based, man-made product and chockfull of toxic chemicals. Turf is a multi-layered product made from a top layer of nylon, polypropylene or polyethylene blades that simulate grass; an infill typically made of ground up recycled tires, or “crumb rubber,” which contains PFAS and toxic metals such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium, latex, VOCs, and phthalates; and a drainage layer, possibly along with additional padding. The crumb rubber and synthetic blades of grass eventually degrade from friction, UV radiation from the sun, and weather, releasing microplastics and chemical runoff that migrate into the air, soil, and nearby waterways. Because synthetic turf contains flammable petrochemicals, it is also combustible and requires flame-retardants, which are also toxic. Children are especially vulnerable due to their rapidly growing organs and immature detoxification systems. Because of health and environmental concerns about crumb rubber in synthetic turf sports fields, some manufacturers are leaning towards alternative fill materials such as coated sand, ground cork, coconut fiber, and rice husks.
Maintenance Artificial turf can stand up to heavy use without needing bulky equipment like lawnmowers and leaf blowers for upkeep. It is touted for being a low-maintenance, weed-free alternative, but weeds are wily and eventually poke through openings in turf while leaves continue to fall, so owners wanting to maintain a pristine look will still need to pick, sweep, rake, or blow weeds and leaves off of it.
Temperature Synthetic turf rivals black-colored roofs in heat retention and reaches significantly greater temperatures than natural grass, concrete, or asphalt under the same weather conditions -- 10 to 30 degrees hotter -- reaching up to 200-degrees F on a 98-degree F day. Overly hot playing surfaces can lead to heat stress, especially in athletes, children, and pets. Although real grass is most definitely not a sustainable crop in our area due to its high use of water and other issues, relatively speaking, it does cool the soil beneath it and produces oxygen. Artificial grass contributes to global warming by absorbing significantly more radiation than living grass and by displacing living plants that could remove carbon dioxide throughout photosynthesis. The manufacturing, installation, service, and ultimate disposal of two acres of artificial turf generates 55.6 carbon dioxide in addition to other greenhouse gases and pollutants. Drainage is greatly reduced in fake turf, which can increase risk of flooding during high rainfall. Studies of fake turf in the NFL also show that players suffer more injuries on fake turf than on real grass.
End of life disposal Turf manufacturers claim turf has a life expectancy of 20 - 25 years, but others say it’s really more like 5 – 10 years. Turf fades in the sun and starts to look shabby over time -- and then it’s really hard to get rid of. Whenever we think about the sustainability of a product, we have to consider its full lifespan, from the materials, sourcing, and energy used in manufacturing to its effect on wildlife and the environment, to its eventual disposal. Even if it lasts 20 years, that’s still too much plastic. Although many types of artificial grass use recycled materials such as tires or tennis shoes, the lawns themselves are not biodegradable or recyclable. Whether disposal is done via landfill where it won’t biodegrade or is incinerated, it puts nearby communities at risk for chemical exposure.
If you live in a rainy climate like the United Kingdom and are determined to have a traditional grass lawn, real grass is the better choice over synthetic grass. If you live in this neck of the woods, where there are perpetual concerns about drought, there are plenty of other lawn alternatives that are better for the environment, like clover lawns, but keeping things a little wild and sticking to native, drought-tolerant plants is the way to go for your health, the planet, and the critters we share it with.
Sources and Further Reading:
https://synlawnsandiego.com/blog/natural-v-artificial-grass/
https://www.syntheticturfcouncil.org/page/synthetic_turf
https://njwec.org/PDFs/fact-artificialterf.pdf
https://theintercept.com/2019/10/08/pfas-chemicals-artificial-turf-soccer/
https://www.beyondplastics.org/fact-sheets/synthetic-turf
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/house-and-home/gardening-advice/a44662650/artificial-grass/
https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/discover/why-are-artificial-lawns-bad-for-the-environment
https://www.angi.com/articles/artificial-grass-pros-cons.htm
https://njwec.org/PDFs/fact-artificialterf.pdf
https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/turf-wars/
Photo by Peter Burdon on Unsplash
Replies