...The turf piles grow
An EPA spokeswoman said in an email the agency “encourages the environmentally appropriate beneficial use of secondary materials, including scrap tires.” She said the agency has not studied disposal of turf fields, and has no information about where the waste ends up. That’s up to state and local governments, she said.
The problem is mounting.
The
Synthetic Turf Council, the industry’s main trade group, estimates there are between
12,000 and 13,000 synthetic turf fields in the U.S., with some 1,200 to 1,500 new installations a year. The industry’s pitch is that synthetic turf saves on water and eliminates the need for pesticides, fertilizers or constant mowing. And unlike real grass, the manufactured variety is billed as a year-round surface.
But today, hundreds of fields that were installed
in the mid-2000s are at or beyond their estimated eight- to 10-year life spans. Most of these early fields were made with tire crumb, also known as crumb rubber, a product that has come under intense scrutiny in recent years over fears that tiny tire fragments containing heavy metals and chemicals might be dangerous.
Now these fields are coming out – en masse.
In one 2017 report, the Synthetic Turf Council projected that by the end of the decade at least 750 fields will be replaced annually. With the average field containing approximately 40,000 pounds of plastic carpet and 400,000 pounds of infill, according to the report, this means as much as 330 million pounds of waste could require disposal every year.
A parallel turf dilemma is unfolding in soccer-loving Europe. Footage from a
recent Dutch documentary, by the news program Zembla, revealed a so-called “turf mountain” in the Netherlands formed by discarded playing fields, graphically illustrating the enormity of the waste problem overseas.
But one expert who was featured in the documentary said in an email to FairWarning that he believed the disposal issue is graver on this side of the ocean.
“It is definitely a MUCH bigger problem in America than in Europe,” said Dennis Andersen, owner of
Re-Match, a recycling plant in Denmark that specializes in synthetic turf. “You are not regulated at all with used turf and have massive amounts laying around.”
Disposal issue under wraps
Among American turf sellers and promoters, disposal is a touchy topic.
A truck loaded with used turf from a Montgomery County, Maryland, high school headed last year for its new home on a paintball park 50 miles away (Photo by Lyda Astrove).
Seven large artificial turf companies who market their product in this country declined to be interviewed by FairWarning about disposal, or the recycling programs they say they maintain. FieldTurf, based in Montreal and one of the largest synthetic turf vendors in the U.S., did not answer specific questions but issued a statement, attributed to the Synthetic Turf Council and affirming its members’ commitment to sustainability.
“Our members have found many applications for end of life turf that are commonly found in the marketplace, and they are at the forefront of technology that is expanding end of life turf applications,” the statement said. Turf council president Dan Bond did not return FairWarning’s phone calls or answer questions submitted in writing.
Even among environmentalists
, disposal of artificial turf has gotten scant attention, but for a vocal group of parents and activists, including many with roots in the Washington, D.C., area. They are alarmed by some studies calling out the
potential health risks of crumb rubber and the exposure of young people to cancer-causing chemicals, lead and other dangerous toxins...
