While artificial turf may be billed as a dream solution by some for the environment it is an absolute nightmare. Synthetic grass is full of dangerous bacteria, gets hotter than concrete in full sun and degrades into tens of thousands of pounds of polluting microplastic.
Artificial turf wastes more water per sq.ft. than many low-water lawn and groundcover options because of how aggressively it reflects heat and compacts natural soils. This means if you ever wish to remove your synthetic grass and plant something living you are looking at months (if not years) of expensive mitigation to rehabilitate your dirt. We've seen customers invest in over 6 months of aeration and amending to be able to get something living to grow again and this was after just 2 years of artificial lawn had been in place.
Here's the 5 Biggest Hazards of Artificial Turf:
1. Microplastic
Every square foot of artificial turf contains around 5 lbs. of single use (non-recyclable) microplastic. That means even a SMALL artificial lawn can pack 1500 pounds of toxic waste. Depending on the quality of the synthetic turf you buy, it's color and texture might break down in as little as 3-5 years. With premium products lasting more like 10-20. Either way you're looking at long-term color and texture decay that will eventually land your fossil-fuel byproduct lawn in a landfill. And uncountable small particulates from it regularly flowing into natural water courses, your surrounding garden beds and yes, your home thanks to the friction caused by regular foot traffic.
2. Surface Heat
Artificial grass gets as hot as concrete in direct sun. In a heat wave, this means it will be dangerously hot for you or your pets to walk on (unlike the cooling surfaces of natural grass or ground covers). Fake turf has an increased surface temperature as much as 55°F hotter than surrounding outdoor temps in full sun. This means you (or your pet) could accidentally step onto something 165°F if you don't think twice before putting feet outside, which is hot enough to blister skin in as little as 5-10 seconds.
This surface heat isn't just a risk for damaging shoes and precious feet. It also reflects onto your home significantly increasing air temperatures and air conditioning costs. That means you could be looking at a full 5-10° hotter outside your door than if you chose a more sustainable lawn replacement alternative.
3. Water Waste
Many homeowners hose down fake lawns with water to cool them for pets or kids when temperatures soar. This causes massive amounts of water waste in times of year when water reserves are the lowest. In addition artificial turf is hard to clean. High pressure hoses are one of the only successful methods. When pets go to the bathroom on it lots of hosing down is required to remove the smell of pet urine and excrement residue.
By contrast, natural low-water lawns and ground covers use less water over time due to the natural cooling effects of transpiration. "UC studies determined that it's often not lawns (and other sprinkler-irrigated plants like groundcovers) that waste the water, it's the uneven coverage (low distribution uniformity) of most sprinkler systems, coupled with not applying the right amount of water seasonally." In addition of course you don't have to hose off natural lawns to remove natural animal excrement residue. After a poop scoop natural microbiota and dew take care of that for you. In short, studies have found that having something living in the ground puts more water back into the environment over time than having something plastic.
4. Doubles Rate Injury
For several decades artificial lawn was explored in sporting and football arenas as an alternative to natural grass. Today many professional athletes refuse to play on it. Why? Because for professional football players it increases the risk of ligament injuries by %200 with a specific ACL injury rate 63% higher. Knee injuries account for more than 1/3 of all football injuries so it makes sense why professional athletes would take avoiding these types of playing fields as seriously as they take their careers.
In baseball, the trends are even worse. Due to the string of questionable ailments and court cases surrounding synthetic grass playing fields, there are less than 5 professional baseball teams left in the USA that train on it.
Here's a quick overview of how injury rates have been documented to increase on artificial turf:
- Doubles risk of ankle injuries while playing soccer
- Doubles risk of knee ligament injuries for football players
- Increased severity of concussions for football players
- Increased risk of hamstring, hip & quadricep strain in all running sports
If you were planning to use your artificial lawn for soccer or other sports in your home you may want to think twice. Even when fake grass is installed with advanced padding systems lain underneath it still has less overall surface flexibility which makes lower body and head injuries much higher risk (source, source).
5. Toxic PFA Exposure
It's controversial and has been in and out of courts and research labs for decades but many professional athletes feel there is an increased risk of rare Cancers from exposure to the toxic PFA's found in all synthetic turf. Certain rare forms of brain cancer occurred in unusually high frequencies in football athletes who played on fake grass in Philadelphia in 2023 (ongoing cases). And the FDA has stated no amount of PFA exposure is safe for humans.
Just how many PFA's are found in the recycled rubber backing of synthetic turf? At least 16 types of non-degradable cancer linked chemicals. PFA's are water soluble and have been known to find their way into drinking water supplies easily. Crawling, falling or slipping enough to the point you create grass burns or open wounds on this surface just does not seem like a good idea.
Is Artificial Turf Really Worth the Money?
If you haven't looked into already, artificial turf is significantly more expensive than natural sods (even premium low-water groundcover lawn products like this one). It starts at anywhere from $8 per square foot to as much as $20 per square foot without including the cost of infill base and installation.
With the cost of a new irrigation system, topsoil amendments and sod, live grass has a lower price tag overall than synthetic turf, even after all installation costs are accounted for. And while you may think you'll save on water and maintenance over time with fake grass the truth is you're costing the environment and yourself water due to the needs for cooling and cleaning artificial turf with hoses.
If you're tired of the maintenance, keep in mind there's a number of California native sod and ornamental grass options don't require mowing and in some cases even choke out almost all weeding requirements (i.e. native fescue). Contact us or checkout our native sod page if you'd like to learn more.
Check out this gorgeous low-water yard with easy ornamental grass-like Lomandra, Crepe Myrtle and Chitalpa desert willow.
What Could you Plant Instead of Artificial Turf?
- Native Sod or Low-Water Groundcover Lawn - If you want uniform greens there are a number of great options out there that don't require much maintenance and use much less water than conventional lawn. Click here to get ideas on cost and how they look.
- Ornamental Grass or Spreading Ground cover- Today there are numerous easy care large ornamental grasses that can quickly fill in your yard to give it a romantic windswept meadow feel. Including numerous mulch covered foot paths in between means the space can still be usable. Checkout ideas for easy low-water non invasive ornamental grasses by clicking here.
- Low-Water Trees with Mulch - Low-Water trees are the the key to helping moderate our environment. Their natural transpiration and shade canopies reduce urban island heating effects, significantly lowering your air conditioning bills and requiring minimal maintenance. Avoid fire prone species like eucalyptus, juniper and cedar. Use this handy tree selector guide from Cal Poly University.
Adding 3-5 low-water trees to your landscape with a dozen or two ornamental grasses (like in the image above) is sure to come in as the lowest cost and best looking option for replacing lawn.
