by Administrator

Issued by Synthetic Turf Council – 2011
Landscape
1. Saves Water – A Resource in Short Supply
- According to the EPA, over one-third of residential water is used for lawn irrigation nationwide, totaling over 4 billion gallons of water a day.
- The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates that every square foot of natural grass replaced saves an additional 55 gallons of water per year. The average lawn is 1,800 square feet, so the average home with synthetic turf saves 99,000 gallons of water each year.
- The average U.S. Household can save up to 70% on their water bill, or $500.
- Earns LEED points for Water Efficient Landscaping
2. Eliminates the use of lawn mowers
- According to the EPA, a 3.5 horsepower gas-powered lawn mower releases the same amount of air polluting emissions in one hour as a new car driven 340 miles.
- Over 17 million gallons of gas and oil are spilled each year from refueling lawn equipment; that is more oil than was spilled by the Exxon Valdez.
3. Eliminates the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers
- The EPA has identified runoff of toxic pesticides and fertilizers as a principal cause of water pollution. Synthetic turf eliminates the need for pesticides and fertilizers.
Sports Fields
1. Saves Water – A Resource in Short Supply
- One full-size synthetic turf sports field saves 500,000 to 1,000,000 gallons of water each year. For example, the El Paso Independent School District estimates its 10 new synthetic turf sports fields will save 80 million gallons of water each year, and $832,000 in water, mowing, repairs, and general maintenance.
- Earns LEED points for Water Efficient Landscaping
2. Recycles tens of millions of used tires annually to be used as crumb rubber infill
3. Eliminates the use of billions of pounds of toxic pesticides and fertilizers
- The EPA has identified runoff of toxic pesticides and fertilizers as a principal cause of water pollution. In Florida alone, the EPA estimates that about 1,000 miles of rivers and streams, 350,000 acres of lakes and 900 square miles of estuaries are impaired by runoff of pesticides and fertilizers.
Act Global Sports is a proud member of the Synthetic Turf Council.
Information gathered from www.syntheticturfcouncil.org
by Administrator

STC certification another recognition of quality and reputation
Austin, Texas – December 2009
With synthetic turf providing numerous advantages for sports and landscaping users, the industry has grown heavily in recent years. As the demand increases, so have the number of synthetic turf manufacturers. This makes innovation, quality and integrity a key point in choosing the right producer.
ACT Global Sports was awarded the Synthetic Turf Council (STC) Certification as a Material Manufacturer and Supplier, reinforcing its place as a top manufacturer of artificial turf.
The STC’s certification program was established for customers to have assurance that the product they are receiving will exceed the STC’s quality guidelines, and that the company’s representatives will follow the STC’s code of professional and ethical code. This certification process included a due diligence review and reference check by the Synthetic Turf Council.
This recognition comes on the heels of FIFA selecting ACT Global Sports as a FIFA Preferred Producer for football turf. Additionally, the company conducts extensive sports performance research, durability and environmental testing, and follows ISO 9001 Quality methods.
John Baize, Director of ACT Global comments, “We are proud to have earned this recognition from the STC. This reflects the significant investments we make in quality and developing turf systems that go far beyond meeting carpet specifications. Our global business approach is simple – take natural grass benchmarks, develop a synthetic turf system to meet those requirements, conduct extensive UV and durability tests, and then partner with the best installation and distribution companies to deliver this quality to their clients. The users do not always see the tremendous amount of detail we put into each field, but they enjoy the quality benefits. We appreciate the STC and invite others to join this tremendous industry organization.”
ACT Global Sports is headquartered in Austin, Texas with additional tufting locations in Calhoun, Georgia, Asia and Europe. It services its international clients through offices in The Netherlands, Cyprus, China, Poland, Thailand, UK and France. Local sales and support is offered through an expanding partner network of leading sport field contractors in over 50 countries.
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by Administrator
Issued Friday, October 30, 2009, Toxic Treadmill
/PRNewswire/ — Representing the latest convincing data on the safety of synthetic turf, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), California Environmental Protection Agency, released a report last week dated July 2009 which indicated there is a negligible human health risk from inhaling the air above synthetic turf. The OEHHA summary also stated “it is unlikely that the new generation of artificial turf is itself a source of MRSA.”
OEHHA searched the available literature related to the safety of new generation artificial turf fields, those which contained crumb rubber infill. They analyzed whether these fields emitted levels of chemicals or particulates into the air that are a health risk when inhaled, and also any potential risk factors for MRSA infection. Based on the data from two 2009 New York studies and a 2006 report of indoor fields, they found that “Both reports concluded that these fields did not constitute a serious public health concern, since cancer or non-cancer health effects were unlikely to result from these low-level exposures.” Other key findings included:
— Analyzing the chemicals detected above the fields in New York, OEHHA noted that “many of these occurred at similar concentrations in the air sampled upwind of the fields” – which suggests that the source of these chemicals was not from the turf fields.
— Cancer risks are negligible, lower than many common human activities. OEHHA created a test scenario to determine the exposure and health risks of an athlete playing on an artificial turf field from age five until age 55 for nearly 100 chemicals. The results showed an exposure to five chemicals with a lifetime cancer risk above one in one million, which is considered a negligible risk. As OEHHA explains “these estimated risks are low compared to many common human activities.” To give context, their website states that the cancer risk of breathing California air (in 2000) due to diesel particles was 540 in one million.
— Synthetic turf is not a source of MRSA. OEHHA stated that “It seems unlikely that the new generation of artificial turf is itself a source of MRSA, since MRSA has not been detected in any artificial turf field.” That conclusion is consistent with the findings of the Penn State January 2009 study conducted on the lifespan of staph on grass and synthetic turf, which was sponsored by the STC and the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council.
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by Administrator
Issued by Synthetic Turf Council – June 2009
(New York, NY) – In response to the public’s desire for more scientific data, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York State Department of Health (DOH) released a new study on May 29 which validated the safety of synthetic turf fields with crumb rubber infill. The findings, available at http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/46856.html, concluded that “crumb rubber material used in synthetic turf fields poses no significant environmental threat to air or water quality and poses no significant health concerns.”
“This report provides compelling new scientific evidence about the safety of synthetic turf that should help answer the responsible questions being asked by parents, legislators and community activists,” said Rick Doyle, President of the Synthetic Turf Council. “Increased playability, safety, low maintenance and significant environmental benefits have made synthetic turf an increasingly popular option.”
The New York State DEC and DOH conducted a series of studies to collect laboratory and field sampling data to “assess the potential impact to both surface and ground waters due to leaching of chemicals, assess potential public health impact from air release of chemicals and evaluate surface temperature and indicators of heat stress.” Other recent findings verifying the safety of synthetic turf with crumb rubber infill include a March 2009 air quality study by the NY City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and a May 2008 independent review of available research commissioned by DOHMH into the potential exposures and health effects due to inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption. These documents and more are available at – http://www.syntheticturfcouncil.org
In July 2008, a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Staff report also concluded that ‘young children are not at risk from exposure to lead [used in certain pigments to color synthetic turf fibers] in these fields.’” To further the long-term objectives of the Environmental Protection Agency, CPSC, and Centers for Disease Control to eliminate the use of lead in all products where feasible, the Synthetic Turf Council announced in July 2008 its commitment to voluntarily reduce lead levels in accordance with the same strict standards that Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 imposes on the children’s toy industry.
Synthetic turf fields are affording millions of children and people of all ages the opportunity to be active year-round and in virtually all weather conditions. About half of all NFL teams currently play their games on synthetic turf, and it has been approved by FIFA for World Cup soccer matches. In 2008, growth in all sectors of the industry — sports fields, landscape, golf, municipal parks, and airports – also helped conserve billions of gallons of water, avoid the use of millions of pounds of pesticides and fertilizers, and recycle 25 million used tires that would otherwise end up in landfills.
Act Global Sports is a proud member of the Synthetic Turf Council.