Exploring the Pros and Cons of Synthetic and Natural ...

I should not be writing this. The voice in my head says to keep my mouth shut. Yet, the other voice says, maybe someone will find this information helpful. That is after all what we are supposed to do at Illinois Extension, make sure the knowledge and research do not stay locked up somewhere, but extend it out across the state to help people make more informed decisions. Even though it may open a can of worms, it is time to talk about synthetic turf.

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Hopefully, the idea of replacing a home lawn with synthetic turf was short-lived. A year ago it seemed to be a very popular concept on social media. But now I&#;m seeing lots of online commentary stating &#;Boy I wish I didn&#;t put in fake grass!&#; Maybe it works in Nevada, but it is not a great idea for Illinois.

A debate rages on comparing synthetic turf and natural turf in an athletic setting. I have spent the past few years sitting on couches, tailgates, and bleachers with other sports fans debating the merits of real and artificial turf. There are certainly positives to both viewpoints. Yet, both systems have downsides. Schools, park districts, and other organizations that manage athletic fields must choose how they invest their money for their sporting facilities.

Synthetic Athletic Turf

Starting, let&#;s look at synthetic athletic turf. Essentially, this system is comprised of rubber material and plastics installed on a gravel and/or sand base. The surface is considered more cushioned for falls, yet that cushioning varies and depends on the depth of the rubber material below the surface. Synthetic turf is marketed to need fewer inputs. It doesn&#;t need to be mowed, fertilized, aerated, reseeded, and so on. That reduction of efforts is seen as cost savings for the lifetime of the field. Synthetic turf can be played on in the rain without destroying the field and it can handle more frequent use. When you&#;re in a rural school with one field to handle all your sporting events, synthetic turf can make a huge difference in access to a high-quality play surface.

Very often the main downside people mention about synthetic turf is a perceived increase in injuries. There is a lot to unpack in that argument, more than I have room in this article, but in short, we can&#;t just point to synthetic turf as a culprit. There are multiple factors to consider, including ever-changing gear, footwear, rules, and athleticism of the players. However, there are evident health concerns about synthetic turf. Quite obvious is how much hotter the playing surface becomes during sunny weather. The radiating warmth can lead to overheating of athletes, and even skin burns during hot summer weather. Additionally, the cushioned surface changes with time. As debris, paint build-up, and the degradation of rubber occur, it alters the hardness of the surface. Synthetic turf has also been shown to have a greater potential for abrasions and burns from sliding.

Synthetic turf also has a lifespan. It does not last forever. And depending on local climate, maintenance, and use it can shorten or increase that lifespan. While many companies make varying claims on the lifespan of their synthetic turf, it seems like most synthetic field surfaces last ten years or less. The base layers under the play surface can last longer.

The upfront cost of synthetic turf is often the biggest hurdle for most organizations. It is not uncommon for an initial installation cost of synthetic turf to reach $1 million. But after installation, there are maintenance costs. A study showed annual labor costs averaging $6,000 with 375 hours of labor for synthetic turf compared to $4,000 for 250 hours of labor on natural turf fields. Finally, a used-up synthetic turf must be landfilled and that will incur more costs.

Natural Athletic Turf

These athletic fields have a playing surface of traditional living turf grasses. It is not uncommon for these fields to be planted in the native soil. However, some athletic fields have their grass growing in a sand base.

The primary benefit to natural grass play surfaces is we have been using these for a long time. The research has been done and the knowledge is out there on how to manage these fields. Natural grass fields also introduce fewer synthetic materials into the environment. A natural grass play surface is cooler and more forgiving when it comes to sliding. Plus, if you&#;ve ever been on a hot synthetic field, it often smells like hot tires. A natural turf athletic field smells like, well grass!

Yet, the major problem with natural turf is all it takes is one game in poor weather conditions to destroy a field. Imagine a football game in the rain. Cleats tearing at the ground. Players coming off the field with mud and chucks of turf in their helmets. The day after, the field manager is met with a mud pit. And how do you get the field ready for next week&#;s game let alone the soccer game coming up in a few days? And when the ground becomes bare and dry, we now have a harder surface where players are more prone to injury. Essentially, natural turf play surfaces have limitations on the amount of use, which may restrict who can use a school or community field.

Managing a natural turf field is more than just mowing. It requires a higher level of horticultural knowledge and continued education. Organizations have to be willing to hire trained or pay to train their staff on turf management. In this case, we are not dealing with a plastic carpet, but instead living plants that will respond and change with time. These living plants are growing under high-use conditions and require inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, overseeding, and more beyond this list. Becoming experienced in these different practices is critical when it could make or break your athletic field&#;s performance.

Is there help for communities to make this decision?

Installing a particular field because the county next door has one is not a great way to go about this decision. It should involve multiple groups of individuals in a community, especially the people who manage the athletic fields.

There are some resources online that can help inform organizations during this process. These will be linked below. Also, I&#;m not a turf expert, just the messenger. If you contact me asking if you should go with natural or synthetic turf, you won&#;t get much out of me.

The decision to invest in synthetic or natural turf is a choice that must be weighed individually by an organization&#;s unique situation. Here are some resources that may help as a guide:

Good Growing Fact of the Week: There are hybrid natural/synthetic turf systems. The Jack Trice Stadium field at Iowa State University is natural grass with green plastic fibers stitched in to give a green appearance even when the living turf goes off-color in the winter and hot summer.

The historic field at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, is made of natural Bermuda grass.

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Artificial turf was designed to be the perfect solution for all of the problems with natural grass, but now it may be an athlete&#;s greatest enemy.

Manufactured from synthetic fibers, artificial turf was intended to imitate the look and feel of natural grass. According to &#;History of artificial sports turf,&#; a blog post from California-based retailer installartificial.com, it typically has been used in areas that don&#;t have appropriate weather conditions to maintain natural grass. However, since artificial turf has minimal maintenance requirements, it has become more common.

According to installartificial.com, AstroTurf was developed in the mid-s from &#;a grass substitute made of artificial fibers called ChemGrass. The product was first used at Moses Brown School in Rhode Island in and became popular quickly. Today, the brand is known as AstroTurf and is manufactured in over 60 countries across the world.&#;

The widespread use of artificial grass on sports fields has led to a larger discussion of its pros and cons. Proponents of artificial turf say that one of its biggest benefits of is its cost.

According to the ESPN article &#;Inside the NFL turf debate: Injuries, safety measures, problems,&#; natural grass fields in a cold weather climate can cost around $2 million to $3 million per year to maintain, compared to around $1.25 million for the installation and maintenance of artificial turf.

The installartifical.com blog post states that artificial turf only requires brushing and sanitation once per week, making it more durable and easier to maintain. Typically on natural grass fields, if it rains the day before or the day of a sporting event, the event will be canceled because the field is inoperable. If the natural grass fields are played on in the rain, they potentially can be destroyed beyond repair.

Grace Holmes, a Guilford senior and lacrosse player, has first-hand experience with such situations.  &#;I remember going weeks without being able to practice because our local football team would destroy the fields after playing in the rain,&#; she said.

According to the installartificial.com blog post, weather conditions can cut down the use of natural grass fields to about 700 hours a year. However, artificial turf fields can be used for about 3,000 hours a year.

While artificial turf has many positives, it also has its fair share of negatives. One drawback of artificial turf that people may not be aware of is its chemical properties.

According to a article from globalsportmatters.com, a platform of Arizona State University&#;s Global Sports Institute, &#;many brands of turf use small crumbs of rubber to support the fake grass, provide a more natural feel underfoot and provide a cushion. The rubber pellets are most commonly made out of recycled automotive tires and could pose a health hazard. These rubber crumbs can cling to a player&#;s hair, skin and clothing, which could lead to inhaling, ingesting or other direct contact with the rubber chemicals.&#;

In the article, titled &#;For Better Health, Safety of Athletes Which Playing Surface is Best,&#; writer Dustin Pare refers to experts to state that &#;artificial turf is often treated with biocides (and) it has been associated with an increased risk of Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infections,&#; also known as MRSA. &#;A MRSA infection can happen after skin is scraped or cut, which can occur from sliding on artificial turf,&#; according to the article.

When asked if an athlete&#;s playing surface has an impact on injuries or not, Guilford sophomore Ryan Garmendiz, a football and baseball player, said &#;I think it has a tremendous impact. Considering I play football on turf in the fall and then baseball on a grass field, I can speak from experience.

&#;I prefer grass fields because I feel safer, the ground feels better, I have a better grip on the grass fields, and when it is hot outside the temperature on the turf is way higher,&#; he said.

Pare&#;s article on globalsportmatters.com also refers to a then-ongoing study by the National Toxicology Program on rubber pellets. According to the study, &#;public health concerns about playing on synthetic turf fields have increased &#; due to media reports that young adult soccer players, particularly goalies, are being diagnosed with blood cancers.&#; A synopsis of the National Toxicology Program&#;s research on synthetic turf and recycled tire crumb rubber stated that at the time, &#;limited research (was) available by which to judge whether playing on these fields impacts human health.&#;

Dangerous infections aren&#;t the only health concern when it comes to artificial turf. A study published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine in showed that from to , playing on artificial turf in the National Football League caused a 16% increase in lower body injuries per play compared to similar injuries per play on natural grass.

Guilford senior football player Trey Buie said he believes the NFL should be able to regulate the playing surfaces in its stadiums to make them all grass or all artificial turf.

&#;I think they should all be grass for player safety, and players have fought to have all grass fields in order to lower injury risk,&#; Buie said.

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