Turf Now!® and Environmental Responsibility Part 2: Environmental Impact

The physical characteristics of Turf Now!® artificial grass, such as the backing, infill and grass fibers, are environmentally responsible and ecologically sound. It also contributes to the quality of the environment by reducing the water, pesticide and pollutant usage that comes with a natural lawn. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that homeowners spent an average of 2.8 hours weekly on lawn maintenance in 2012, and according to the Environmental Protection Agency, landscape irrigation accounts for almost one-third of all residential water usage, adding up to millions of gallons of water per year.  Residential lawns and gardens receive more pesticide applications per acre than agriculture, pesticides that have been shown to negatively affect the environment and the animals that live in it, including humans. On average, a 3.5 horsepower gas lawnmower releases the same amount of carbon emissions as a new car driven 340 miles. Artificial lawns eliminate the need for gas-powered lawnmowers and the toxic emissions and pollution that they emit.

The pesticides that we commonly use on natural lawns have been linked to cancer, birth defects, reproductive effects, liver and kidney damage, neurotoxicity and disruption of the endocrine system. Pregnant women, children, the elderly and the chronically ill face the greatest risk from pesticide exposure and chemically-induced immune suppression, increasing their chances of contracting cancer. Studies from the National Academy of Science have shown that over half of the lifetime pesticide exposure occurs during the first five years of life and raise the blood toxicity of children from a young age. Toddlers and pets that play in the natural grass may ingest pesticides and become very ill. In severe cases of pesticide poisoning, the victim can incur brain damage or even death. Pesticides are exceedingly dangerous chemicals that are used just to make a lawn green and appealing to the eye; they provide us with no health benefit, and in fact harm the environment when runoff from lawns enters our water supply. Turf Now!® artificial lawns do not use pesticides. They do not require pesticides to stay green and beautiful.

The most measurable green attributes of synthetic turf comes from its impact on water usage. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that over one third of each household’s water usage is spent on outdoor irrigation. With the amount of homes in the United States, the total amount used on outdoor irrigation comes to over nine billion gallons of water per day. This amount is even higher when it comes to sports. The Synthetic Turf Council reported that the average field uses between 500,000 and one million gallons of water per year. Multiply that by the number of sports fields in the country and the amount of water used for irrigation becomes harder to calculate. Natural lawns need to be watered at least a few times a week, and in some dryer and warmer areas, such as California, watering must occur more frequently in order to maintain the grass. Artificial lawns require much less water, and that is only for rinsing off the surface to maintain cleanliness and cool the temperature. When it does happen to rain, that water is not lost; a turf surface from Turf Now!® allows precipitation to be reclaimed by the Earth’s soil through proper drainage. In fact, just the amount of artificial turf sold and installed* by Turf Now!® has saved 4.7 billion gallons of water from being used on natural lawns.

Turf Now™/! LA is the industry innovator on synthetic grass in California. Their lush and livable synthetic grass systems have transformed the way synthetic grass is used, producing the most advanced and performance oriented putting surfaces and synthetic landscaping solutions in the market. For more information, visit our showroom in person, or we can come to you for a free consultation. Call us at 866.739.5296 to speak with a representative today.