Artificial Grass
A threat to our environment and health
Our report exposes Artificial Grass (AG) as a vast and growing problem. The waste emergency it is contributing to, and the health issues it raises, must be addressed. After all, our children's health and the natural world are at stake.
AG often ends up dumped, legally or illegally, in the UK and abroad.
The harms being caused by plastic grass can be summarised under three headings:
Environment - AG installations demand the destruction of the existing soil biome, shed microplastics, contribute to heating and hydrological problems, and its construction adds to the depletion of sand. They present no benefits at all to nature.
Health - AG sheds microplastics, contains chemicals of concern to human health, overheats in the sun, and leads to increased levels of player injury compared to natural turf. Questions are being asked about links to cancer.
Waste - the 44.8km2 of plastic grass waste comprises the carpet itself, the rubber infill, plus sand. Of these, only the sand can be treated in a circular manner. The plastic waste is largely unrecyclable. There is obscurity about the end-of-life for the rubber crumb. For the fibres, the UK is estimated by us to have a maximum capacity of about 7.8% - all of this waste would be downcycled into other products at present. (And, as we know, recycling is profoundly flawed.)
We are simultaneously publishing a readable report, Artificial Grass: Environment, Health & Waste, and the extended (draft) paper on which it is based. Together they represent a long research period into this material and its problems. We welcome comments on the latter, which is meant as a live document and extended introduction to the problem of plastic, or "artificial" grass.
There now appears to be 44.8km2 of sports AG carpeting the UK, and an unknown amount in homes and gardens. We urge government action to legislate and regulate this hazardous and unsustainable material.
Our full draft report is also available here.
Are you a local organiser worried about AG?
Get in touch so that we can connect you to our UK-wide campaigners
