Let's start with common sense: covering the earth with a plastic carpet is a terrible idea. And yet, we continue to cover an ever -increasing strip of our open and private open spaces with artificial lawn in a way that will surely let future generations scratch the head of confusion.
It is time to adopt healthier, cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternatives, and Los Angeles can help open the way.
The artificial lawn industry has been very successful in convincing millions of people that its short -lived product, not recyclable and derived from fossil fuels is sort of good for the environment. Was there a temple of Greenwashing's renown, it would be inside.
In fact, it is clear that artificial lawn is bad for our ecosystems as well as for our health.
Artificial lawn exacerbates the effects of climate change. During a day in Los Angeles at 90 degrees, the temperature of the artificial lawn can reach 150 degrees or higher – Warm enough to burn the skin. And artificial lawn is disproportionately installed to replace private lawns and public landscaping in economically disadvantaged communities which are already faced with the largest consequences of the urban effect of the thermal island, in which hard surfaces increase local temperatures.
The artificial lawn consists of single -use plastics in raw oil or methane. The extraction, refining and treatment of these petrochemicals, as well as the transport and possible elimination of the artificial lawn, are delivered with a significant carbon footprint.
The artificial lawn is full of Perfluoroalkyle and polyfluoroalkyle substances, or pfas, known as “chemicals forever” because they accumulate in the environment and living tissue. The Synthetic Turf Council noted the efforts of the manufacturers to ensure that their products “do not contain any constituent of the PFAS intentionally added. “So what? Serious health effectsAnd although the artificial lawn is in no way the only source of them, it is the one we can avoid.
Since artificial lawn is a complex product made up of several types of plastic, it will never be recycled. After its relatively short lifespan of about eight to 15 years, artificial lawn is found in indefinite storage, discharges and incinerators, creating a multitude of additional pollution problems.
Industry representatives have attracted school councils and municipalities with promises that artificial lawn fields can be used 24/7 and become a source of income, because third parties line up to rent them. In reality, well -maintained natural grass land is more than sufficient for the limited number of hours per day when people are available to participate in sports.
Studies show the maintenance costs of the artificial lawn often exceed those of natural grass. Natural organizations in the soil break down a large part of what is found on a lawn field, including all kinds of human and animal body fluids. When the field is a plastic carpet, these systems cannot work, requiring regular cleaning with a cleaning agent and a substantial amount of water. The filling component that starts the lawn should be combed, cleaned and replaced regularly as well. As the field is aging, this work only increases.
The lawn industry reconstructs that the grass fields lead to the use of expensive fertilizers and pesticides, which also become pollution of runoff. It is a reasonable concern, but it can be dealt with with the management of pests and soil amendments. The continuous implementation of the requirements for collecting food and green waste at the level of the state will produce much more compost to maintain natural play surfaces in a profitable manner.
Remarkably, artificial lawn does not even save water in relation to the grass. Industry marketing equipment claims that an artificial domain can save millions of water gallons per year and that owners who use the product to replace a conventional lawn can reduce their water consumption by more than half. But artificial lawn should be regularly cleaned with water, and in hot climates such as Los Angeles, artificial fields become so hot that schools must water them before children play on them.
The promises to reduce the water from the industry generally compare artificial lawn with the most careful grass herbs. But much more tolerant varieties with natural grass drought are available. Residential lawns are indeed an extremely waxed use of water, but native plants are a much better solution than the artificial lawn – and you get butterflies as a bonus.
Even if the artificial lawn is never watered for cleaning or cooling, it contributes to freshwater losses that natural surfaces would capture. Los Angeles in particular needs natural plants and surfaces which absorb as much of our precious rains as possible to recharge our groundwater and to alleviate floods. Waterproof plastic leaves cannot provide this service.
The Los Angeles Municipal Council is considering Oblige the municipal departments to account for the consequences of the artificial use of the lawn, which is a good first step. From 2015 to last year, California's law considered artificial lawn as a form of landscaping tolerant to drought that cities and counties could not prohibit. Thanks to a change of law which Excluded the artificial lawn in this categoryLos Angeles has the possibility of creating a precedent by prohibiting the new installations of this destructive equipment.
Any truthful evaluation of the financial, environmental and health consequences of the artificial lawn should lead governments to eliminate it. We must overcome the obsolete concept that we can make a better version of nature.
Charles Miller is president of the Chapter of Los Angeles of Climate Reality Project and its biodiversity committee.
