California communities are facing decisions that will impact play in a monumental way: To ban or not to ban? Artificial turf in California is under scrutiny, and the proposed bans — based on a concern for PFAS — are misinformed, short sighted and likely to do more harm than good.
We’re playing for keeps. To keep our communities healthy and our world beautiful. To keep materials in play through recycling infrastructure. And to keep play going, no matter the region or season.
Synthetic turf came about because natural grass wasn’t viable in many situations. Turf was an innovative solution to avoid the challenges with creating and maintaining natural grass fields, and this is still true today.
In fact, artificial turf solves issues of play inequity and climate change challenges such as droughts or water scarcity. Plus, it can be a reliable and resource-friendly solution to keeping play accessible. And now, through the TenCate Turf Recycling Solutions program, turf in the U.S. can be fully recycled.
Artificial grass removes the need for constant mowing — and the high rate of emissions associated with mowers and other fuel-powered equipment. No grass clippings also reduces a major component of landfilled municipal solid waste.
With continually worsening droughts across more and more of the USA, synthetic turf means unlimited play without depending on limited water resources. Synthetic turf also has no need for pesticides and fertilizers that can harm soil health and often leach into local watersheds, negatively impacting potable water sources or aquarian ecosystems.
Turf is a playable solution, no matter the weather or season. It doesn’t require recovery time from heavy use or rain. It can provide consistent, safe play regardless of environmental circumstances.
Artificial turf is bringing play to communities who need it most. Whether it’s limited water or greenspace or difficult weather conditions, turf makes play inclusive and equitable — exactly the way it should be.
Joe Max Moore
Mission Viejo / UCLA
92 Summer Olympics
94, 98, 02 FIFA World Cups
US National Soccer Hall of Fame
“The utilization of synthetic turf is imperative in providing equal opportunities for youth in urban areas to engage in sports and physical activities, regardless of weather conditions. This vital product ensures that all communities have the same opportunities for athletic training and success. Furthermore, sports and physical activities on these surfaces play a crucial role in combating obesity in both youth and adults”.
Eric Wynalda
Westlake Village / San Diego State University
90, 94, 98 FIFA World Cups
US National Soccer Hall of Fame
“Synthetic turf offers a dependable and long-lasting playing surface, enabling young athletes in urban areas to engage in sports and physical activities without concerns about adverse weather conditions. Regardless of weather, these turf fields deliver a consistent playing experience, guaranteeing that all communities have equitable opportunities for athletic training and success.”
Alan Reising
Assistant Superintendent- Facilities & Operations at Long Beach Unified School District
“As our communities continue to rely on public schools to support the recreational needs of our neighborhoods, our fields have become almost a 24/7 operation. School Districts need resilient, sustainable solutions that can withstand the type of rigorous use we put on our athletic fields. Simply put, natural grass field will not support our needs into the future. We need these solutions and I ask that you join me in opposing this ban.”
Ted Walstrom
Assistant Superintendent- Facilities and Governmental Relations at Santa Ana Unified School District
“With the Community Schools movement, our facilities and playfields are used many more hours per day than they were designed for. It is impossible to keep natural grass in playable shape without the proper recovery time. This ban will only remove opportunities for our youth to have safe surfaces to play on.”
TenCate wants communities to feel good about the turf under their feet. That’s why we continually innovate to raise our standards and meet or exceed expectations. While turf inherently meets social and environmental needs, we’re committed to creating the best turf on the market by putting sustainability first in research, design and manufacturing.
PFAS
Turf has less PFAS than many daily-use products, even some that we put in or on our bodies. And now, we’re manufacturing our turf without added PFAS.
GeoCool™ Infill
TenCate’s own GeoCool™ infill is made from a renewable inorganic mineral that’s 100% recyclable and non-toxic.
End of Life
For the first time ever in the United States, we’re offering zero-waste solutions for turf fields, and making turf circular.
Unlimiting Play
Turf keeps play inclusive, equitable and accessible, regardless of greenspace or climate.
TenCate wants communities to feel good about the turf under their feet. That’s why we continually innovate to raise our standards and meet or exceed expectations. While turf inherently meets social and environmental needs, we’re committed to creating the best turf on the market by putting sustainability first in research, design and manufacturing.
PFAS
Turf has less PFAS than many daily-use products, even some that we put in or on our bodies. And now, we’re manufacturing our turf without added PFAS.
GeoCool™ Infill
TenCate’s own GeoCool™ infill is made from a renewable inorganic mineral that’s 100% recyclable and non-toxic.
End of Life
For the first time ever in the United States, we’re offering zero-waste solutions for turf fields, and making turf circular.
Unlimiting Play
Turf keeps play inclusive, equitable and accessible, regardless of greenspace or climate.
In the perfect conditions, natural grass would be the field of choice for many. However, the perfect conditions (good weather, accessible water, healthy soil that doesn’t need fertilizers) rarely exist. And that’s where turf comes in. Synthetic grass from TenCate offers a no-maintenance, no-water, and now no-added-PFAS surface where we can play 24/7/365. That’s hard to beat.
From providing a 24/7/365 surface for play, to requiring zero water, ongoing maintenance or harmful pesticides and fertilizers, artificial grass proves to be a valuable resource for communities all around the globe. And contrary to popular belief, it can be a sustainable choice for many communities, especially now that we have circular solutions and can recycle aged turf.
Through extensive research and development, TenCate has designed turf without PFAS, removing the source of PFAS from the manufacturing process of our turf fibers. There is more PFAS in dental floss, other turf, and even some natural grass fields than in TenCate turf.
While rubber infill is an industry standard, TenCate has been exploring other, more sustainable options for infill such as our GeoCool™ Infill. In addition to being made from a renewable source, GeoCool Infill also helps reduce the surface temperature of a field through slow evaporative cooling. A cooler playing surface can mitigate the “heat island” effect in urban areas and keep people playing in all seasons.
TenCate is providing the first of its kind turf recycling program to address the end of life of turf fields. There are roughly 265 million square feet of installed turf in North America right now, and our concern is keeping that out of landfills. We’re developing new circular solutions and partnerships that help return end-of-life turf back to the value chain.
The worst impact artificial turf has on the environment is at its end of life, which occurs around a decade after installation. However, understanding this, TenCate is working hard to create a reliable program that will take turf back — any turf, not just TenCate’s — to repurpose the materials and give it new life, keeping it out of the landfill.
But importantly, and often overlooked, turf has some important benefits to the environment when compared to grass. For instance, to maintain a grass field, 500,000 to a million gallons of water are needed a year. In a water-stressed area, that makes field hydration a significant burden for communities.
Artificial turf also doesn’t require the synthetic fertilizers that natural grass does. In fact, “natural” grass is far from natural. For a perfect play experience, it requires PFAS-heavy fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, frequent mowing and heavy watering. These additives to natural grass fields can impact people and wildlife by leaching chemicals into water sources and aquarian ecosystems, emitting carbon from gas-powered mowers, and using excessive amounts of water.
Yes, turf is safe for athletes. In fact, turf offers a unique ability to innovate, design and adapt to common athletic complaints and issues, and is continually improving. At our Center for Turf Innovation, we’re exploring ways to enhance our turf based on athletes’ experiences.
1131 Broadway Street
Dayton, TN 37321-1802
423.775.0792
Want to learn more?
Want to learn more?
1131 Broadway Street
Dayton, TN 37321-1802
423.775.0792
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