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Benefits of Synthetic Turf vs. Natural Grass

by Shelby Becker

Today’s synthetic turf is designed to simulate the experience of practicing and playing on the best natural grass.

Natural grass simply cannot remain lush and resilient if used more than three to four days a week, in snow or drought, or during months when grass doesn’t grow. This, coupled with an escalating need for durable fields that accommodate multiple teams and activities, the high cost of maintaining a grass sports field or landscape, and the need to conserve water, have prompted a rising number of schools, parks and municipalities to turn to synthetic turf to meet their needs.

ENVIRONMENT: Synthetic turf has a measurable, positive impact on the environment.

WATER SAVINGS
– A typical natural grass sports field requires between 500,000 and 1 million gallons water per year.
– Every square meter of natural grass replaced with synthetic saves 2,200 gallons per year.
– Synthetic turf conserves 4 to 8 billion gallons water annually.

REDUCED PESTICIDE USE
– Synthetic turf eliminates the need for harmful pesticides and fertilizers, a principal cause of water pollution,
which can lead to Algal Bloom, depleted oxygen and damage to wildlife.

LESS POLLUTION
– Helps reduce noxious emissions from maintenance equipment and mowers.
– A push mower emits as much pollution in one hour as 11 cars. A riding mower emits as much as 34 cars.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT: Synthetic turf has been proven to be a highly cost-effective investment.

– A synthetic turf field pays for itself over 3-4 years.
– The cost of installing and maintaining a synthetic turf field over a 20-year period (including one replacement field) is over 3x less expensive per event than the cost of a grass field.

VERSATILE: Maximize land use with the same surface space.

Synthetic turf promotes greater utilization of land than natural grass, as you can achieve more with the same surface space. This is especially useful for highly urbanized environments with limited access to recreational areas, maximizing event spaces, or areas in drought.

ALL WEATHER USE: Ideal for inclement weather climates.

Preparing and maintaining natural turf can be particularly challenging in cold or very hot climates. Natural turf is generally in poor condition after long winter months, requiring extensive maintenance and re-leveling. Hot climates experiencing drought face significant water shortages. Synthetic turf playing fields fields remain uniform and consistent, season after season, and can be used within hours of installation–without worry of damage.

RESILIENT: Far more durable than natural grass.

– Natural grass should not be used more than 20 – 24 hours per week or 680 – 816 hours per year.
– Synthetic turf can be utilized around 3,000 hours per year with no “rest” required.

SAFETY AND PERFORMANCE: Player well-being is at the forefront of product development.

Hundreds of studies have shown that the risk of injury is no different on high quality synthetic turf than natural grass. FIFA Quality Turf, in particular, has been extensively benchmarked and tested against natural grass for player safety and performance measures.

Shelby Becker

Shelby Becker is a creative content creator and marketing specialist at Act Global. She’s an animal rights activist, avid concert-goer, and scary movie enthusiast. Follow her on LinkedIn .
For more information, contact marketing at sbecker@actglobal.com