FieldTurf Says Removal of RMHS Artificial Turf Involved Bad Actors, Omits They Guaranteed RMHS Field would be Recycled and Not End Up in Landfill

On Friday, March 1, 2019, the Maryland House Environmental and Transportation Committee held a hearing on House Bill 1142.  HB 1142 would seek to regulate the disposal of artificial turf.

As part of the public hearing, various people spoke about the disposal of the Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf in the summer of 2018.  The disposal of that plastic football field was documented here on the Parents' Coalition blog.  One of our members happened to see the plastic field being rolled up and loaded on to an open tractor trailer.  As the plastic and crumb rubber was driven away, crumb rubber was spilling out all over the ground and road. 

We documented the removal of the RMHS field and made the pictures public. 
Some of our pictures were used in support of House Bill 1142.

After members of the public spoke in support of the bill those that opposed the bill spoke.  One of the speakers opposing the bill was Zach Franz representing FieldTurf (video of statement below).  Mr. Franz referenced the earlier public comments about the disposal of the Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf field by saying, "some of the earlier reference bad actors that could be a subcontractor that was hired by a field owner to dispose of a field improperly."

Mr. Franz omitted that when the first FieldTurf (no bid) artificial turf fields were being installed on Montgomery County Public School fields the issue of disposal of these fields was part of the public debate.  Disposal of these fields was the topic of discussion in public meetings at the Montgomery County Council.

As a result of those discussions, FieldTurf issued the December 2009 letter shown below guaranteeing that the fields they installed in MCPS would be,

"100% recycled after its useful life is finished and will also guarantee that the field does not end up in a landfill. " 

So when the Richard Montgomery High School FieldTurf artificial turf field was removed and dumped by a river in Baltimore County and sent to a landfill in Virginia, who was the "bad actor" in that situation?

2010 Artificial Turf Purcha... by on Scribd

More Turf Fields Across the District Are Being Replaced or Treated With Gallons of Glue

...Customers across the U.S. that purchased so-called top of the line FieldTurf fields have seen the fields quickly fall apart. Some received a line of FieldTurf turf called Duraspine that was known to be defective. Instead of withstanding a beating from athletes and the sun for eight years or more, the blades quickly become brittle and shed.

Other lines of FieldTurf turf — sometimes sold as premium “upgrades” to schools experiencing Duraspine failures — have also seen grass blades fall out easily. FieldTurf begun dumping 1,000 gallons of glue on those fields in recent years to make them stronger. Serra High, Patrick Henry High and Clairemont High had the glue treatment in 2015, district officials confirmed. Morse High, San Diego High and University City High got glued this year. Edison Elementary is next.

During the so-called “slip lock” glue treatment, rubber pellets that serve as infill cushioning between blades of fake grass are sucked up so gallons of glue can be poured on top of the surface, before the infill is put back. FieldTurf officials say the glue is safe.

Despite the problems, FieldTurf is still the only turf installed at schools districtwide...

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/education/more-turf-fields-being-replaced-or-treated/

SPECIAL REPORT: Top turf company made millions selling faulty fields to taxpayers #mcps #FieldTurf #MCPSLOVESFieldTurf

Have you read this report yet? Have you watched all the videos in the article? Just insert MCPS and Montgomery County Parks into the article for a good read on what has gone on here in Montgomery County, Maryland.

You will never see this type of investigative reporting here in Montgomery County. Thanks to the New Jersey reporters who put together this comprehensive report on how Montgomery County public schools came to have defective artificial turf football fields at Richard Montgomery High School, Walter Johnson High School and Montgomery Blair High School. Those three football fields have now failed and are putting players at risk on a daily basis.

Here in Montgomery County we will have to wait for a catastrophic injury to a child or adult on one of these fields before any of our elected leaders will acknowledge this crisis. But no worries for MCPS, the legislature has protected MCPS will a cap on any damage claims. Does Parks have a cap on their liability for the Blair High School field? SPECIAL REPORT: Top turf company made millions selling faulty fields to taxpayers #mcps #FieldTurf #MCPSLOVESFieldTurf: Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland