It can be a pain sometimes, grabbing that lawnmower to cut the grass, or re-seeding scuffs and holes in your lawn. In many gardens now, this has encouraged some to start adopting astro-turf, or artificial lawns, as an ‘easy to maintain’ solution. But have we really considered the effect this will have on our planet, and interestingly, our oceans?

A hidden polluter

It sounds great on paper, “I’ll replace my lawn and save energy on cutting and watering it and it will be easier to maintain!” Right? If it sounds too good to be true, it is…

These lawns still need plenty of maintenance, including brushing, rinsing and washing (so much for no watering!). Then, after a significant time outdoors, replacement – to keep them looking fresh and undamaged. Sadly, they also cause significant harm to the environment.

These rolls of fake grass come in a variety of forms, but the key ingredient in most of them remains the same – Plastic! Not just the grass strands themselves, but also the matting and underlay which they are woven into.

Through sun damage, rain, abrasion, and temperature, these plastic components begin to break down and release plastic particles into the environment. As with any plastic waste, it can easily make its way into our oceans.

A study by University of Barcelona revealed that off the coast of Spain a staggering 15% of marine plastic pieces likely came from artificial lawns! The concentration of artificial grass fibres floating in the sea was as high as 213,200 fibres per square kilometre in some places. And just to note, this study focussed only on pieces larger than 5mm! So think of all the potential microplastic particles released as well!

We have explained in countless other blogs the damage marine plastic waste, and microplastics can do to marine-life and our planet. None of it is good news.

Water run-off

Replacing lawns with artificial ones also adds to a broader problem. Rain water has to go somewhere, and if it is not being absorbed and slowed by vegetation and soil, then it runs back to our seas and oceans in higher volumes, and at greater speeds. This provides a greater opportunity for water run-off to flood areas, and then transfer other plastic waste straight to ours rivers and seas. You may think this is not a big deal at first, but when you consider that around 10% of UK households have artificial grass installed somewhere in their garden, then it gets a little more serious.

Why fake it?

So in essence, people are replacing an easy to maintain plant that locks away small amounts of carbon, drains water more effectively, and acts as food for organisms, with a more-expensive mat of plastic that has very little benefit! You do the math on that for our environment… it doesn’t add up…

So, if you are ever tempted to replace your lawn with this stuff, don’t! Or if you have some already, consider the best way of removing it (sadly most of this stuff ends up in landfills) and replacing it with a more-natural lawn, or better yet, a diverse variety of plants! Lawns containing additional plants like clover, provide a much greater ecological benefit and often require less maintenance. That’s a win-win.

However, still more needs to be done on the provision of this stuff to homes and its installation in public areas. Why should this be an option when we already have a great greener alternative? Should it be banned or controlled? I think so, and so do a quarter of British people!

Thankfully, in the UK there has been a 66% decline in demand for artificial grass in 2023 since 2021, so maybe a positive end is in sight. However, we all must still keep highlighting the truth about the harm this stuff does to our seas and planet!