Shipping WJHS Plastic Football Field to Malaysia, 120 Tons of Crumb Rubber will Not be Recycled. #PlasticPollution #Landfill #UsedTires

Jan. 11, 2020, WJHS failed artificial turf field.

The Montgomery County Board of Education has announced their plan for the used plastic football field at Walter Johnson High School.  The 20 tons of green plastic grass will be rolled up and sent to Malaysia and the 120 tons of ground up tires used as infill will not be recycled.  

That would mean that the 120 tons of ground up tires is going to the County landfill in Southern Virginia.  There the 120 tons of WJHS crumb rubber will join the 100+ tons of crumb rubber and plastic football field from Richard Montgomery High School where those football fields will reside for the next 1,000+ years. 

According to their announcement, the Board of Education has contracted with Target Technologies International, Inc.  Target Technologies was featured in the recent FairWarning article Fields of Waste: Artificial Turf, Touted as Recycling Fix for Millions of Scrap Tires, Becomes Mounting Disposal Mess 

At this link Target Technologies explains their plan for used plastic football fields.  Target Technologies makes clear they are only recycling the plastic backing and green grass fibers.  They do not list any process for recycling the 120 tons of ground up tires used on each plastic football field. In fact, the Board of Education does not have a plan for recycling the 120 tons of ground up tires from the WJHS plastic football field in their removal plan.   

Target Technologies states that they partner with Poly-Pacific Inc.

Here is the Poly-Pacific Inc. warehouse in Malaysia:

This excerpt from the recent FairWarning article details the results of their investigation into the recycling that takes place in the Poly-Pacific location in Malaysia:

...FieldTurf once advertised a “take back” program where its customers can send fields back to the company at end-of-life so they can be recycled into coasters, park benches, garbage cans, shirts, school bags and new infill.

The program slideshow says nothing about sending the used turf over 8,000 miles away to Malaysia.  

This was the case for three fields that were removed from San Francisco over the last four years. City records show that a company called Target Technologies International, based in British Columbia, Canada, shipped the artificial grass to a recycling plant in Malaysia, where it was reportedly processed into new products. According to its website, Target Technologies says it recycles turf through an environmentally sound process and its owner boasted in 2017 that his is the “only company that recycles 100 percent of the synthetic turf” into post-consumer products.

San Francisco officials received three “certificate of compliance” letters signed by Target Technologies’ owner, John Giraud, guaranteeing that the turf from each field was recycled. 

“The Recreation and Park Department has been looking for all opportunities to recycle the material,” a San Francisco communications officer said in an email. “This was the only option at this time that we were able to find.”

But the communications officer did not answer a specific question from FairWarning about whether anyone from the city had ever toured the Malaysian plant. The official also didn’t say if anyone from San Francisco had ever examined the post-consumer products that Target Technologies claims to produce.

Giraud refused to respond to multiple phone calls and an email. FairWarning was unable to reach Thomas Lam of Poly-Pacific Inc., Target Technologies’ partner in Malaysia...

 https://www.fairwarning.org/2019/12/fields-of-waste-artificial-turf-mess/

MCPS Superintendent Jack Smith Has A Secret #ArtificialTurf #plasticpollution

On Thursday, January 9, 2020, the Board of Education will be presented with a Resolution for the replacement of the defective, failed Walter Johnson High School artificial turf football field.  The Resolution (shown below) mentions that there is a detailed recycling plan for the old artificial turf and infill when it is removed.  But, Superintendent Smith doesn't actually tell the Board of Education or the public about that detailed recycling plan. 

The Board of Education will vote on the removal of this plastic field without knowing what will happen to all that plastic and the 120 tons of ground up tires. 

RMHS artificial turf in dumpster (2018)

Recall that when the Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf football field was replaced the old field littered the ground, polluted storm drains, spilled on the street, and was ultimately dumped by a river in Baltimore County.

Superintendent Jack R. Smith and MCPS COO Andrew Zuckerman didn't want to discuss the massive pollution that resulted from the removal of that artificial turf field. They considered questions about the pollution a distraction from their "core mission of teaching and learning."

     The statement read in part:

...It is unfortunate that there is a small group of individuals attempting to mislead and misinform our community about this issue. This behavior distracts from our core mission of teaching and learning. I am particularly troubled by the fact that in this case we are fielding questions about a paintball facility’s reuse of artificial turf in White Marsh, Maryland when here in Montgomery County locally we are focused on creating opportunities for all students to learn and achieve at high levels...

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2018/08/parade-of-pollution-july-30-2018-smith.html

Superintendent Smith even said what happens to the removed plastic and ground up tires was "beyond the control of MCPS."

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2018/08/superintendent-smith-says-what-happens.html

MCPS dumped RMHS plastic field by Bird River.

Now, here we are in 2020 and another MCPS artificial turf field is about to be torn up and thrown away.  But where will the old plastic field and 120 tons of ground up tires go?  

Will it once again be dumped by a river?

Will it once again go to a landfill in Southern Virginia?

Superintendent Jack Smith isn't telling.

   Award Cont Replace Turf Field Walter Johnson HS by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Bret Harte Filed Suit Against FieldTurf for Failed Football Field. Field Replaced. Same Type Field as Walter Johnson HS @mcps

This high school had the same type of plastic football field as is currently in use at Walter Johnson High School.  The WJHS plastic field has been deteriorating for years due to the defective plastic grass blades.  MCPS and the Board of Education have ignored the failure of this field and continued to keep in open, putting the safety of children at risk every day.

2016: 

High school calls foul on its football field; sues FieldTurf

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2016/03/just-in-high-school-calls-foul-on-its.html

2017:
Bret Harte gets new turf to defend   
 http://www.calaverasenterprise.com/sports/article_c0c8249c-57a2-11e7-bc6e-6bc4f5561323.html 

'He couldn't breathe': How playing soccer on artificial turf nearly killed a teen

Playground Lead Levels Forum: Media reports have shown dangerously high lead levels on DC-area playgrounds and playing fields made from synthetic materials

You’re invited to a Community Forum Monday, July 29 at 7 pm!

Recent media reports have shown dangerously high lead levels on DC-area playgrounds and playing fields made from synthetic materials, such as shredded tires. These playgrounds and fields can be dangerously hot, dangerously hard, and made with no fewer than 13 carcinogens. Recent testing shows high levels of lead at several local school playgrounds, including Takoma, Truesdell, and Janney.

Join us for a panel discussion and Q & A on Monday, July 29 at 7 pm with Dr. Alexander Wooten from Morgan State University, Dr. Diana Zuckerman from the National Center for Health Research, and Dr. Jeff Gearhart from the Ecology Center. Details and registration here.

This forum promises to be an enlightening and thought-provoking discussion of importance to the media as well as parents, grandparents, policy makers, and people who care about our environment.

In addition to a broad overview, the panel will answer specific questions regarding the Ecology Center’s recent findings of high lead on the playgrounds at Takoma, Truesdell, and Janney.

For more information, Here is an open letter to the DC government on synthetic turf and poured in place playgrounds.

Here is background information on lead on playgrounds in DC.

The National Center for Health Research is a nonprofit think tank that has scientifically analyzed the evidence regarding artificial turf and playgrounds, and testified before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, DC legislators, Maryland legislators, and Connecticut legislators.  To learn more, check out our website at www.center4research.org and write “tire” in the search box, to see some of the articles and letters we’ve written on the topic.

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

Somerset ES Parents and Mayor Demanded Kids Play on 126 Degree Plastic Surface, and They Got Their Wish @Marc_Elrich

The Somerset Elementary School parents and community (even the Mayor) insisted that the children in their community should play on a very hot, plastic surface at their elementary school.  The parents and Mayor raised money for the plastic field and the Board of Education awarded a no bid artificial turf deal (they threw out the actual bids) to FieldTurf.

The Montgomery County Council supported the installation of the field that would slowly bake the children.

The field went in.

Now we see that the plastic is heating up just as predicted.  On a school day in October, the Somerset ES plastic playground registered 126 degrees. 


Below is the field test report from October 9, 2018.

Somerset Elementary School ... by on Scribd

Somerset Elementary School ... by on Scribd

Somerset ES cork infill not viable for use by Montgomery Parks

The Parents' Coalition obtained e-mails and documents from Montgomery Parks concerning their decision in 2016 to replace the Montgomery Blair High School artificial turf football field.

In the e-mail below was a discussion of the choice of contractor, choice of plastic carpet, and choice of infill for the new Blair High School artificial turf football field.  As part of the evaluation of these different products, the Somerset Elementary School artificial turf field was evaluated and discussed.

From this e-mail, we learn that the Somerset Elementary School artificial turf field requires daily maintenance by MCPS staff and that Montgomery Parks had determined that the infill used at Somerset was not a "viable product." 

How many MCPS elementary school fields have staff brushing the field on a daily basis?  Who is paying for the increased maintenance costs of this plastic field?  

The e-mail contains a lot of additional information about how artificial turf fields are purchased in Montgomery County and how the fields are performing and annual costs associated with these fields.  None of this information is ever discussed by the Board of Education.   

Read the e-mail at this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a3c7sqzc1vvmxa3/2016%20Montgomery%20Parks%20email%20Somerset%20infill.pdf?dl=0

2016 Montgomery Parks Email... by on Scribd

Video: Elrich, Hucker, Rice, Floreen, Riemer, Katz and Navarro Voting to Install Plastic Fields at Julius West MS, Whitman HS and Einstein HS

Video: Elrich, Rice, Floreen, Katz, Navarro and Riemer Voting to Install Plastic Playground at Somerset ES

2009: FieldTurf Guaranteed RMHS Field would be 100% Recycled and Would Not End Up in a Landfill

What actually happened to the RMHS plastic grass.

In 2009, FieldTurf produced the letter below stating that the Richard Montgomery High School (RMHS) plastic football field and 120 tons of ground up tires (crumb rubber) would be 100% recycled and would not end up in a landfill.

In 2018, the RMHS plastic football field was removed and sent to a landfill in Southern Virginia and to a paint ball field in Baltimore County.

The RMHS plastic grass football field was not "100% recycled" and did end up in a landfill.

Pictures of the removal and dumping of the RMHS plastic grass football field are at this link. (Scroll down for all posts.) 

The Montgomery County Board of Education failed to have the RMHS plastic grass replaced under warranty when the field failed.  Instead, they diverted MCPS Operating Budget funds meant for public school classrooms to pay for the replacement of the RMHS plastic grass football field.  

The Montgomery County Board of Education failed to have FieldTurf honor their commitment to 100% recycle the RMHS plastic grass field.   They are polluting Southern Virginia and Baltimore County.  

These are the Board of Education members that are continually endorsed by major organizations, unions, other elected officials, and news organizations and elected and re-elected into office.  

The dumping and pollution from the removal of the RMHS plastic grass is their actual record in office.  

This is what Montgomery County voters support. 

2010 Artificial Turf Purcha... by on Scribd

“Yes, in this type of weather, the [artificial] turf is going to be 20-25 degrees surface temperature hotter than if they were practicing in the grass,” John Marshall athletics director Robert Chavanek said.

37 band members in Marshall County overwhelmed by heat, taken to hospital

https://wchstv.com/news/local/developing-band-members-overwhelmed-by-heat-taken-to-hospital-in-moundsville

.@MoCoCouncilMD @MontgomeryCoMD who is accepting responsibility for massive crumb rubber pollution of Cabin John Creek? Crumb rubber everywhere even after @MCPS official “claimed” precautions taken!

.@MoCoCouncilMD @MontgomeryCoMD who is accepting responsibility for massive crumb rubber pollution of Cabin John Creek? Crumb rubber everywhere even after @MCPS official “claimed” precautions taken! pic.twitter.com/fIRL1p3RNY

— Lyda Astrove (@LydaAstrove) July 30, 2018

Please notice spilled crumb rubber all over the place, entering Cabin John creek watershed due to shoddy artificial turf removal/replacement efforts at #RichardMontgomeryHS @mocoboe pic.twitter.com/foL9lcXten

— Lyda Astrove (@LydaAstrove) July 30, 2018

Forget Plastic Straws, Board of Ed. is Dumping Ground Up Tires in Streams in Cabin John Watershed

Remember when FieldTurf told the Montgomery County Council in 2011 that when artificial turf is removed "every single component will be recycled?"

Here we are 7 years later and this is the reality.  The Richard Montgomery HS artificial turf has been ripped up and 120 tons of ground up tires (crumb rubber) are being spread all over the school grounds, parking lot, roads and are going into our storm drains, ponds and creeks in the Cabin John Watershed.

All of the black dots you see in the pictures below are ground up tires (crumb rubber) used as the infill on the artificial turf field at RMHS.  Each artificial turf field requires 120 tons of ground up tires. All pictures were taken in the last two days and after the recent rain storm.

Drain surrounded by ground up tire pellets from artificial turf infill on 

Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf field. 

To report illegal dumping in the City of Rockville:

Board of Ed. Voted Superintendent Authority to Execute Contracts. No Contracts were Executed. No Field Maintenance Program was Executed. #artificialturf #nobid #nocontracts

There is no contract for Field Turf, Inc.

The Parents' Coalition filed a Maryland Public Information Act request with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) for:
records, reports, memoranda,  purchase orders, work orders, paid invoices, unpaid invoices, contracts, bills of lading, receiving documents, Requests for Proposals, Invitations for Bids, and bid documents in your custody and control pertaining to Field Turf business with MCPS from January 1, 2015 to March 2018.  

In response to our request, we received invoices and purchase orders.  

We did not receive any MCPS contracts with Field Turf. 

The Board of Education has on multiple occasions specifically authorized the Superintendent and the President of the Board of Education to execute documents to purchase artificial turf and to obtain maintenance agreements for the existing artificial turf.

Yet, despite that directive from the Board of Education, no maintenance program documents were received from MCPS. 

MCPS currently has 6 artificial turf fields.  

Based on the documents that we received, it would appear that in 2015, MCPS only did maintenance on 1 field.

In 2016,  it is impossible to tell if all of the fields were maintained because the invoices from FieldTurf do not all list a location.

In 2017, it appears that MCPS only did maintenance on 4 fields.  

Nowhere in these documents is maintenance ever mentioned for the Walter Johnson High School field.

There is no Maintenance Program document as voted on by the Board of Education and it is, therefore, impossible to tell what maintenance has been done on any of the fields.  

The invoices from Field Turf cannot be reconciled with the payments from MCPS. 

Below is a summary of the invoices and purchase orders that we received. 

Below are the documents we received from MCPS.

   2018 FieldTurf MPIA by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

NIH: Crumb Rubber in Playgrounds and Children's Health

March 20, 2018

Recycled rubber artificial turf and similar products were introduced into athletic fields and playgrounds in the 1990s to make playing surfaces more comfortable. This recycled rubber comes from automobile tires, which are ground into very small rubber pellets, called crumb.

Scientists and doctors have expressed concern about crumb rubber use in play grounds and artificial turf because safety testing of these products has not been conducted, and tires are known to contain heavy metals, cancer-causing chemicals, and other toxic substances. Children can be exposed to the harmful substances in crumb rubber when the pellets touch their skin, when small pieces are accidentally swallowed, and when some of the chemicals are released from the rubber in the form of gas which can be inhaled, or enter the environment through leaching.

In this podcast, learn more about what scientists are doing to understand the health risks of crumb rubber in playgrounds, and what you can do to reduce children’s exposure to potentially harmful contaminants.

PODCAST:  https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/translational/peph/podcasts/crumb_rubber/

Arlington Not Planning to Join Class Action Lawsuit Against Synthetic Turf Installer

...The fields, which are under warranty until early 2019, will be replaced early so that all three Long Bridge Park fields will not be replaced simultaneously.

Fields come with an eight year warranty, and are generally replaced eight or nine years after installation, according to Lisa Grandle, Arlington County Parks & Recreation’s park development division chief.

The warranty for one of the Long Bridge Park’s synthetic turf fields covers defective material or installation workmanship problems, but doesn’t cover what Grandle called normal wear and tear or heavy usage...

https://www.arlnow.com/2018/02/27/arlington-isnt-planning-joining-class-action-lawsuit-against-synthetic-turf-manufacturer/#disqus_thread

Turf Company Knowingly Sold Bad Product to Maryland Parks, Lawsuit Says

An artificial turf company accused of selling $570 million worth of defective turf to schools, local governments and parks departments is facing a class action lawsuit from unhappy customers in dozens of states, including D.C., Virginia and Maryland.

The parks department in Montgomery County, Maryland recently joined the lawsuit after officials were forced in March to tear out defective turf at the field outside Montgomery Blair High School. An officials said the replacement cost taxpayers $700,000.

"We know that if a kid falls and hits their head on something that hard, whether it be a cement sidewalk or artificial turf field that has deteriorated, the danger is concussion or death from the impact," concerned parent Janis Sartucci said...

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Turf-Company-Knowingly-Sold-Defective-Unsafe-Product-Lawsuit-Says-470776623.html

Maryland County Has Joined Huge Artificial Turf Class Action Lawsuit @mcps @mocoboe

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2018/01/17/maryland-county-has-joined-huge-artificial-turf-class-action-lawsuit/#45fdc83c5f6b

Fremont: City sues company that sold it turf fields ‘certain to fail’

Fremont is suing a company it claims sold the city three artificial turf fields that were flawed and deteriorated faster than promised.

FieldTurf USA, Inc., a Florida corporation, “sold Fremont artificial turf fields it knew were defective and certain to fail,” according to the complaint filed Aug. 30 in U.S. District Court in Oakland.

Fremont joined other cities, counties and school districts that sued the same company contending they were similarly burned...

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/09/14/fremont-city-sues-company-that-sold-it-turf-fields-certain-to-fail/