Growing trend to lay fake lawns instead of real grass causes loss of habitat for wildlife and creates waste that will never biodegrade.
Environmentalists have warned that a growing trend to lay artificial lawns instead of real grass threatens the loss of wildlife and habitat across Britain.
From local authorities who purchase in bulk for use in street scaping, to primary schools for children’s play areas and in the gardens of ordinary suburban family homes, the sight of pristine, green artificial grass is becoming a familiar sight. One company has registered a 220% year-on-year increase in trade of the lawns.
But as families, councils and schools take to turfing over their open spaces with a product which is most often made from a mix of plastics – polypropylene, polyurethane and polyethylene – there is growing alarm amongst conservationists and green groups.
They say the easy fix of a fake lawn is threatening the habitat of wildlife, including butterflies, bees and garden birds as well as creating waste which will never biodegrade.
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There is another problem with artificial turf that homeowners don't seem to be aware of. The accumulation of harmful bacteria. In a natural lawn the soil ecosystem keeps harmful bacteria under control. When it comes to children, infections from play-related injuries are far more likely on artificial turf. Exposure to "mud" is healthy and can build strong immune systems, playing around on a bacteria infested outdoor "carpet" will likely do more harm than good.
You would need to regularly clean the turf with disinfectant and detergent to make it totally safe, in which case you might as well be mowing and fertilising a natural, oxygen producing lawn!
Can't honestly see it catching on at the moment................. it's very pricey and it just doesn't look right. I've only ever seen 3 very small ones and they all looked poor and obviously artificial. Perhaps they'll improve the look of the stuff in the future.............. a few plastic weeds might not go amiss:) One company registering a 220% trade increase might not be very significant....... instead of doing say 1 lawn last year, they might now have done 3!! We really need to know how many lawns he's actually doing. Don't really think the environmentalists have anything to worry about here.
There are some really realistic looking fake lawns about these days, can cost up to £58 per square meter. You cannot tell until very very close up. Plus its soft and feels like the real thing too.
I was actually wondering the other day if there is now an opening in the market for using a power broom on artificial grass, much like a mowing service :)