subject: Is Artificial Grass Environmentally Friendly? [print this page] One way of improving the look of one's lawn, backyard or front yard, minus the trouble of maintaining it for the entire year, is installing artificial grass. This is widely used nowadays because of the immediate and long term benefits it gives to people.
With all the environmental changes people are experiencing these days, and because awareness about the environment is more of an issue, many manufacturers are adapting methods to make their products eco-friendly. Among these products are artificial turfs, which people install in their gardens. Indeed, it is eco-friendly in the perspective of saving water. Moreover, fertilizers and pesticides are not needed in maintaining the turf, and as we all know, these chemicals contribute hugely into harming the environment.
What is artificial grass made of?
Plastic. Various kinds of plastic are utilized to manufacture beds of synthetic grass. Commonly, some makers use polyethylene and polypropylene. Different companies have their own ways of being environmentally friendly. There are some that offer turf beds made from plastics that are recycled, while there are others that market 100 percent recyclable turf.
While the material used in making artificial grass is eco-friendly, the process itself is probably not. Manufacturing synthetic grass requires huge amounts of energy, in which the byproducts are greenhouse gases. There have been studies comparing the gas emissions produced by maintaining natural grass and manufacturing artificial ones. According to the findings, there are more greenhouse gases produced in the production of synthetic grass compared to the mowing and fertilizing activities directly related to the maintenance of natural grass.
Other associated issues
Since there are different companies manufacturing artificial turfs, it is very difficult for various government agencies to assess the level of safety and hazards of synthetic grass of each. However, there are reports telling how several artificial grass samples have harmful chemicals in them.
Unknown to many people, the use of synthetic lawn could be a great contributor to the global warming phenomenon. This is primarily because of the physical property of synthetic grass to maintain a temperature between 25 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit above the temperature of the air. Moreover, there are components of the artificial grass, which when broken down by the sunlight, could lead to the disintegration of the material itself to microscopic, solid particles. These minute particles, when inhaled or digested could pose potential health risks and problems.
