Not Everyone Is In Favor Of Artificial Grass

If we were under the impression that by installing synthetic grass playing fields in place of natural grass we were doing our kids a favor - and that our kids would be grateful for that fact - then we might have another thought coming.

members of the San Carlos Youth Advisory Council which is a group of middle school and high school students who offer opinions to the City Council voted 5-4 against putting synthetic turf on the Highlands Park Lower Athletic Field. Their reasoning was that in their opinion the money that would fund the project could be better spent on less expensive projects that would benefit the broader community.

According to the plan to install the synthetic grass, it is expected that the affected play space will be increased by 43.5 percent and the annual six-week maintenance closure period would be eliminated.

By the looks of things though, the council will likely ignore the opinion of the Youth Advisory Council, with the San Carlos Mayor Bob Grassilli saying that while he understood the cost concerns "usage always seems to carry the day".

it also appears that the same fears that have been proven to be largely a myth - those of toxicity and injury being dangers of synthetic grass - are still surfacing. It appears that a lot of uninformed people prefer to vote in the negative rather than find out from the numerous scientific studies that have been performed in recent times to determine the safety or otherwise of synthetic grass.

Why Is Infill Used In Artificial Grass

A lot of the concerns over artificial turf comes about because of the supposed toxicity of the rubber crumb that is used by the majority of artificial grass manufacturers. So the question that may need to be answered for some people is, why is infill required for artificial turf?

Now, just to be clear, infill is not needed for all artificial grass. The type of artificial grass we are talking about here is actually more properly known as artificial turf and is used on sporting fields and in playgrounds.

Infill may either be comprised of sand, rubber granules, a combination of both or, most recently, thermoplastics. Infill serves two purposes. It helps to structure the artificial grass fibers, helping them to stand upright and act like natural grass, without the infill the polyethylene turf would lie flat against the ground. The second purpose is to provide a cushioned surface for those using the field.

Some manufacturers are coming up with more innovative ways to move away from the use of rubber crumb particles as infill. The use of texturized nylon gives a more stable surface that isn't susceptible to becoming displaced by adverse weather or heavy foot traffic.

Landscaping synthetic grass does not require the type of infill that is commonly used by sporting fields. Doing so will make it look less like a lawn and more like a spotty carpet. Synthetic grass with a woven infill system would be the desired choice for a landscape synthetic grass solution. This removes all of the problems associated with using rubber granules as the infill and makes using synthetic grass for problem yards a real option.