By Nicole Lee, Chapter Volunteer and Recipient of 2023 Youth Award
As students sprint back and forth across an artificial turf field, infill and plastic blades are often ripped out of the plastic carpet. The resulting fumes and dust fly in the air and stay suspended as loose bits of plastic. When the turf fields are watered to clean off the loose dirt and dust, these bits are then flooded into nearby drains. Eventually, these plastic bits end up in the ocean, brought to garbage patches across the world by oceanic currents.
Plastic turf has long been coined by artificial turf companies as an “environmentally friendly” alternative to natural grass. However, synthetic turf’s impact on our environment is significantly more toxic than it is “friendly.” Not only does it displace native grasses and biodiversity, but these sheets of plastic grass also contribute significantly to oceanic pollution.
In 2023, the University of Barcelona took water samples from the coast of Barcelona. Of the 217 surface samples collected, artificial turf traces were found in 62%. Additionally, researchers found up to 200,000 artificial turf fibers in each kilometer squared of the Barcelona coast. Of all the plastics larger than 5 mm in length found in the samples, a whopping 15% were traced back to artificial turf fields.
In oceans, this plastic accumulates in concentrated areas labeled garbage patches. The largest of these patches, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, measures 1.6 million square kilometers and the trash reaches depths of up to 2,000 meters.
As for the impact of artificial turf on human health, an increasing number of medical researchers and concerned citizens — especially parents — are sounding the alarm about PFAS, toxic “forever chemicals,” and heavy metals, such as lead, that are found in synthetic turf. In fact, one report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found PFAS in the blood of 97% of Americans. When the plastic pieces with PFAS are ingested by animals or even humans, the effects are extreme: immunotoxic effects, thyroid disease, liver damage, and even cancer have all been found to be side effects of ingesting PFAS. When people take in more chemicals than they excrete, bioaccumulation occurs and PFAS’ toxic effects may be magnified.
Regardless of whether plastic pieces are contaminated with PFAS and other toxins or not, the plastic pieces themselves wreak havoc on marine life. Animals such as sea turtles, whales, and various types of birds frequently ingest plastic trash. Not only do they become entangled in the dense plastic garbage patches when they mistake plastic for food, but numerous harmful health effects also follow: because plastic cannot be digested, it often causes blockages in animals’ organs and depresses animals’ immune systems. Additionally, when animals ingest PFAS contaminated plastic fibers from artificial turf, they experience the same health harms as humans do.
Instead of further degrading our waterways and making them uninhabitable for marine life, we should be stewards of our environment and the animals that live in it.
Most important of all, we need to stop deluding ourselves that a fake and lifeless sheet of plastic could be more environmentally beneficial than real grass, which is a living and breathing organism that absorbs carbon dioxide and harbors remarkable biodiversity.
One step you can take to oppose artificial turf is to inform your city council members of the severe harms of artificial turf. In the Bay Area, many major environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter are campaigning to ban the installation of artificial turf. If you would like to support the campaign and help our efforts, click here.