19 Aug Environmentally Friendly Benefits Of Artificial Turf
In today’s world, we all want to feel that we’re doing our bit for the environment. Many Australians look out on their garden, and ponder whether replacing their natural turf with an artificial turf would go against their green credentials; they don’t realise that when it comes to lawn, artificial turf is great for the environment.
Let’s start with Water
Artificial turf survives without watering, and in a country like Australia that’s a huge advantage. Water shortages are so severe that the Australian government has turned to huge spending on desalination plants in attempts to produce the water the country needs. Billions have been spent with no water yet produced: and when this water does eventually come on line (if it does), water consumers will find the cost of their water sky-rockets.
“When you’ve installed artificial turf in place of a natural lawn, you’re doing your bit for the environment, your pocket, and the government’s purse”.
Reducing the Use of Harmful Chemicals
People like their lawns to look good all the time. Weeds are controlled with weed killers, growth is encouraged with the use of inorganic fertilizers, and garden pests are eradicated with pesticides. Artificial turf owners don’t suffer any of these problems, and the environment doesn’t suffer from any of these chemical controls.
Cutting Atmospheric Pollutants
When grass is cut, everyone is affected. First, the noise of some lawnmowers (approaching nearly 100 decibels) is almost unbearable. Sunday afternoons can be ruined by one of these beasts toiling just a few yards away.
Grass clippings also produce dust that adversely affects people with allergies and those that suffer from hay fever or asthma. The cuttings that find their way to a landfill then decay to produce methane, which is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide when measured as a greenhouse gas.
The Sunday afternoon lawn trim does more damage than the average natural turf owner realises.
The Smaller the Natural Lawn, the Worse the Pollution
Owners of smaller lawns tend to use garden equipment with smaller engines. These two-stroke engines produce higher relative amounts of volatile organic compounds than their larger counterparts. Don’t be fooled by the word organic in that phrase: oxides of nitrogen contribute to photochemical smog, and carbon monoxide and benzene are also emitted. When you add all this together with the environmental cost of fertiliser production, a small lawn owner could be polluting the environment with four times the amount of greenhouse gasses that his grass can absorb.* A study by the US EPA actually concluded that 4-5% of air pollution was a result of lawnmowers, blowers and trimmers.
Start your Green Lawn Journey Today
Artificial turf makes sense on all levels. While it’s a little more expensive to install than natural turf, over time it can save thousands of dollars in maintenance and watering costs. Titan Turf offers environmentally friendly synthetic turf options. The positive environmental effects of artificial turf become evident immediately, and with a free onsite consultation from Titan Turf, you can explore how to be greener and save money with no obligation.
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