Who wouldn’t want to have a big lawn to hang out on during those warm summer days?
A lawn can be a place to hold various activities, including sports, outdoor dinner parties, and barbecues. While the green movement has been sweeping across the world, more and more people are looking to reduce the number of pollutants they personally inject into the atmosphere.
So we run into this issue when discussing lawns – which is “greener”? Is it the lawn that is grown from grass seed and mowed every couple weeks or is it the artificial turf made of synthetic fibers that resemble natural grass?
You’ll be surprised at the answer.
Environmental Impact of Natural Lawns
Gas Consumption
Think of how often you’ve gone through a neighborhood and heard the engine of someone mowing their lawn. Think of how many gallons of gas are used mowing those lawns, and how much of that limited resource could be saved simply by replacing that natural lawn with an artificial lawn which requires no mowing?
Air Pollution
While mowers and other lawn care machines have been regulated to reduce emissions, many large and inefficient lawn mowers still exist today. Many of these are high volume gas guzzlers and pump out significantly more chemicals than newer more environmentally-friendly lawnmowers.
Methane
Grass clippings emit methane, a greenhouse gas. This occurs because when you empty your lawnmower bag into a compost pile, oxygen cannot reach the grass to help break it down. According to a scientific study, methane can trap more than a dozen times the radiant heat than carbon dioxide.
Pesticides/Fertilizers
While chemicals are a very effective way to control weeds and harmful grass-munching bugs, these pesticides leak into the ground and into groundwater sources (drinking water). In addition because the ecological balance of micro-organisms is disrupted with the use of these chemicals, we essentially sterilize the soil and disable most, if not all, of the microbial contents of the soil.
Water
Think of how much water it takes to keep a lawn healthy and brown patch-free? When users keep water spigots running throughout the night, this is a significant amount of water. Given the water shortage throughout the world, we can save millions of gallons of water by instead replacing that natural lawn with a maintenance-free artificial lawn.
Additional Environmental Benefits of Synthetic Turf
Less Grass Clippings, Less Tires in Landfills
Another feature of synthetic turf that is often ignored is the amount of waste it diverts from landfills. Businesses such as Liberty Tire Recycling have helped divert 105 million tires from landfills, and use the material (referred to as ‘crumb rubber’) as the cushion in the turf.
Using it at your home or business
Although the biggest impact from synthetic turf installations come from stadiums and tracks, it can be used around residential and commercial properties to reduce waste, energy consumption, and carbon emissions in much the same way. Because synthetic turf requires no cutting, it uses no fuel to power a mower, and produces no grass-clipping waste. Additionally, it does not need to be tended to with irrigation, pesticides or fertilizers.
Although it doesn’t have the same natural feel beneath your toes, synthetic turf is still a green option that shouldn’t be counted out.
Conclusion
Throughout this piece, it’s become clear that natural grass is not necessarily the greener option. While debates over synthetic turf versus real grass have persisted in sports and other arenas, the environmental benefits of synthetic turf are often overlooked.
For instance, installations in North American stadiums and tracks have saved nearly 3 billion gallons of water and reduced the need for about 1 billion pounds of fertilizers and pesticides. Maintaining natural lawns involves gas-guzzling mowers, methane emissions from grass clippings, pesticide and fertilizer runoff, and an enormous amount of water to keep lawns healthy.
Although the manufacturing of artificial turf comes with its own set of concerns, its overall carbon footprint is significantly lower than that of natural grass. Ultimately, while many of us enjoy the feel of natural grass after a summer mow, synthetic turf offers a far more sustainable alternative.
