The latest in artificial turf research and communities rallying for real grass. Click on the name of the publication to read the article. For research findings, reports, our FOIL for Pier 42 and other background, see our Real or Unreal Grass page.
A push to install a synthetic pitch sparks a turf war at one Sydney oval
ABC News Australia
Tired of matches being cancelled due to waterlogged grass, Mosman Football Club lobbied the council to switch to an artificial surface at Middle Head oval. But they met with stiff opposition from local residents and conservationists worried about the environmental impact. In the end, they kept the grass and could play on it constantly when they enhanced the soil with compost made from recycled garden waste collected in green bins.
Is Fake Grass Safe? A Manufacturer Sues to Stop a Discussion.
Four experts were sued for defamation ahead of a seminar where they planned to talk about research into the potential health risks on playgrounds and sports fields nationwide.
By Hiroko Tabuchi and Ken Belson, June 17, 2025, New York Times
…The seminar, titled “The Trouble With Turf,” was described as a debate over turf safety amid new concerns about contamination with PFAS, so-called forever chemicals linked to low birth weight, birth defects and certain types of cancer….
Artificial Turf Health Risks
by SINAI EXPOSOMICS, May 29, 2025
Artificial turf products are installed on athletic fields and playgrounds in communities all across the country but uncertainties remain about their safety, particularly for children. Read this entry to learn what the current scientific evidence shows about the potential health and safety risks of play on artificial turf surfaces.
What Are Microplastics Doing to Our Bodies? This Lab Is Racing to Find Out.
Inside a New Mexico lab, researchers estimate there is five bottle caps worth of plastic in human brains. Now they are trying to find out its effects.
By Nina Agrawal, April 8, 2025, New York Times
“…Some of the researchers’ other findings have also prompted widespread concern. In the study, the brains of people with dementia had far more microplastics than the brains of people without it. In papers last year, the researchers showed that microplastics were present in human testes and placentas. Other scientists have also documented them in blood, semen, breast milk and even a baby’s first stool.”
East River Park Action Note: What does this have to do with artificial turf? “Each synthetic turf field looses 0.5 to 8.0% of its blades annually, yielding 200 to 3200 pounds of plastic waste to our environment per year.” From Beyond Plastics.
The Fight to End Plastic Turf Zeros in on NYC Parks
A bill recently introduced in City Council would prohibit the Parks Department from installing new swaths of artificial grass, citing the environmental and health impacts.
by Mariana Simões, March 19, 2025, City Limits
…Artificial turf is where [the petrochemical industry] makes a huge amount of their money. This is a cash cow for the plastics industry,” said Dianne Woelke, board member at the non-profit Safe and Healthy Playing Fields.
A billion dollar industry, the artificial turf market is projected to reach $114.3 billion by 2028.
“So they make a huge amount of false claims about it. They claim, for example, that it saves water. But it absolutely does not,” Woelke said, pointing out that the turf gets so hot in the summer that it constantly needs to be watered to cool it off.
And installation costs are actually cheaper for natural grass.
Turf wars: NYC Council bill would ban artificial grass in city parks
by Liam Quigley, March 2, 2022, Gothamist
https://gothamist.com/news/turf-wars-nyc-council-bill-would-ban-artificial-grass-in-city-parks
A city councilmember from Manhattan and environmental activists are launching a war on turf.
Councilmember Christopher Marte has introduced legislation that would end the use of artificial turf in New York City parks. Critics said the fake grass hurts people and the environment.
Pat Arnow, with the group East River Action, said that when artificial turf was installed as part of an overhaul of Pier 42 in Manhattan, plastic byproducts flowed to the water.
“ We saw that after a rain, the blades of artificial grass, the green dyes and the little infill beads were flowing into the East River,” Arnow said. “We looked into it and we learned these substances pollute our waterways.”
“Turf Has Got to Go,” Says Marte, and Other Supporters of “Touch Grass Bill”
A group of passionate New Yorkers, led by Council Member Christopher Marte, oppose using artificial turf in the city’s parks, citing environmental, health, and safety concerns.
BRIAN BERGER – GARRETT OWEN, 28 FEB 2025, The Spirit, the local paper for The Upper West Side
Standing on the steps of City Hall, District 1 Council Member Christopher Marte, flanked by council members, supporters, and advocacy groups, took aim at artificial turf fields in New York City. “Our parks should be green, healthy, and fighting climate change,” Marte said on Feb. 27. The council member is the driving force behind the so-called “Touch Grass Bill,” legislation that seeks to stop New York City from using artificial, synthetic turf in parks.
He was joined by Council member Julie Menin, who represents the UES and Carmen de la Rosa, who represents the UWS.
Protesters demand ban on artificial grass in NYC public parks, which they say will poison kids with ‘forever chemicals’
By Katherine Donlevy, Feb. 27, 2025, NY Post
This is some real grassroots protesting.
Dozens of demonstrators flocked to City Hall Thursday to demand an end to the installation of artificial grass fields in city parks — which they say is slowly covering the five boroughs in toxic plastic.
The crowd’s wrath was spurred by the “forever chemicals” from Astroturf-like surfaces they say are infecting the youngest New Yorkers — and the threat it poses to the final remaining native tree forest in Manhattan.
Bill seeks to remove artificial grass from parks in NYC
Kendall Green, February 27, 2025, FOX 5 News
A new bill introduced in the New York City Council could put an end to artificial turf in city parks, replacing it with natural grass. Councilman Christopher Marte is sponsoring the “Touch Grass Act,” citing concerns over PFAS chemicals—also known as “forever chemicals”—found in synthetic turf. FOX 5’s Kendall Green reports.
Nature’s therapeutic power: a study on the psychophysiological effects of touching ornamental grass in Chinese women
Ahmad Hassan and Zhang Deshun, J Health Popul Nutr. 2024 Feb 3;
The benefits of touching real grass and artificial turf (the control activity) outdoors with the palm of the hand for five minutes were measured….Touching real grass was associated with significant changes in brainwave rhythms and a reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to touching artificial turf. In addition, SDM scores revealed that touching real grass increased relaxation, comfort, and a sense of naturalness while decreasing anxiety levels. Compared to the control group, the experimental group had higher mean scores in both meditation and attentiveness. Our findings indicate that contact with real grass may reduce physiological and psychological stress in adults.
Save Inwood Park
Website of organization fighting to stop installation of artificial turf in the magnificent park on the top of Manhattan. “Whether containing PFAS or not plastic fields are toxic. With usage the plastic breaks into microplastic that will circulate liberally in the surrounding environment and in the players bodies.
Synthetic Turf is Even Worse than Real Lawn
By Thomas Christopher, Garden Rant, 2019 (but just found by East River Park Action because New York is proposing to use Syn-Lawn, an artificial turf made from “plant-based materials.”
Apparently, materials derived from sugarcane and soy beans are used to replace “up to 60 percent of petroleum-based polymers.” Clearly, a lot of petroleum products are, in fact, used in the manufacturing of this landscape treatment.
Some types of PFAS may cause sleep disorders in young adults, study finds
High blood concentrations of ‘forever chemical’ compound PFOS linked to problems falling asleep and waking up
bt Tom Perkins, 18 Oct 2024, The Guardian
Some of the most common types of PFAS may cause sleep disorders in young adults, new research finds, and the study’s authors for the first time identified how the chemicals probably impact the brain to cause disruptions.
(Note: PFAs in high concentrations are found in artificial turf–even, it is reported, in supposedly PFA-free fields.)
Why schools are ripping up playgrounds across the U.S.
Projects to plant trees, build shade structures and reduce the amount of pavement around schools have become high-priority as schoolyards become dangerously hot.
By Anna Phillips, September 14, 2024, Washington Post
The following are the paragraphs about artificial turf in the article:
Hotter play spaces are increasing the risk of contact burns and heat illness among children. Researchers at UCLA have documented surface temperatures of 145 degrees Fahrenheit on schoolyard asphalt. They have found that rubber and artificial turf, many districts’ go-to alternatives to pavement, can get even hotter.
Funding disparities between school districts are another obstacle, advocates said. Because poorer districts can’t afford large maintenance crews, advocates said that officials are sometimes less enthused about replacing pavement with cooler materials such as wood chips and decomposed granite, preferring artificial turf and rubber. These materials can be cheaper to maintain, but brutally hot.
from comments:
The Trust For Public Land too often installs poured rubber surfaces and yes even artificial turf in playgrounds. These surfaces actually get hotter than asphalt. We need funding for grounds keepers and also accurate information sharing to schools and school boards so they can make the right choices. Otherwise, “outdoor classrooms” and “facilities upgrades” will not actually be the healthy choice for kids, mentally and physically. Our elementary school district installed a glued rubber mulch mat in a school garden and kindergarten yard! Hot, smelly after over 2 years, and really unnatural.
Temps yesterday, on an 82° day:
rubber tile: 169°
artificial turf (sand balast, no infill otherwise): 150°
glued rubber mulch: 143°
Reply to above comment:
Your comment is exactly right. For some reason it is very hard to convince public officials that artificial turf, rubber and similar surfaces are not helpful. As a result we see artificial turf fields and rubber or artificial tracks installed, which unquestionably raise the temperature instead of lowering it. Natural grass is frowned on because it requires more maintenance (watering, for example). This way of thinking is nuts. My home county in a liberal Maryland suburb of DC (Montgomery County) is an example. To replace a grass field and an asphalt track with artificial turf and rubber is not an improvement; it is a harmful downgrade.
Artificial Turf Is Tearing Towns Apart
The PFAS in playing fields—and the open question of what they might do to kids—is turning into a culture war.
Liza Featherstone, May 14, 2024, The New Republic
…But many Rye residents, as well as city agencies and environmental groups, have raised serious objections to the installation of artificial turf on a floodplain by a creek. Unlike grass, it won’t absorb water, which could worsen the neighborhood’s exposure to flooding during a time of climate crisis. Equally worrisome, synthetic turf contains highly toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS, as well as microplastics, which can scatter into neighboring waterways and soil, where they can take hundreds or even thousands of years to break down, wreaking havoc on animals, plants, and ecosystems in the meantime.
PFAS-free Turf Recommendations,
Jeff Gearhart Research Director, November 16, 2020, Ecology Center: Healthy People Healthy Planet
…Our organization has been conducting research on PFAS content in commercial and residential indoor carpet, as well as synthetic artificial turf, for the last two years…
Of the nine synthetic turf fibers we tested last year, fluorine was detected in 100%. Fluorine levels ranged from 44 to 255 parts per million. Additional tests not detailed here on two of the samples found evidence of organic fluorine, supporting the likelihood that PFAS is present. These turf samples included both new and installed product. This sampling is limited and does not represent the entire market. However, we continue to conduct ongoing testing of samples and testing of additional samples had similar findings. And it highlights the need for companies to provide clear test results if they are claiming PFAS-free.
An Actual Turf War Erupts in Washington Heights as Parents Protest Synthetic Grass
A plan to replace dirt in Bennett Park with artificial turf has raised health and environmental concerns. But parks officials say turf is leagues easier to maintain than grass.
BY SAMANTHA MALDONADO, APRIL 4, 2024, The City
Maggi Farmer, a lawyer who lives in the neighborhood, at first liked the idea of artificial turf at the park, though her almost 3-year-old son enjoyed playing in what she called the “dust bowl” at Bennett.
“It feels nice to sit on, there’s no dirt, it makes places look clean,” she said. But as she read up on artificial turf, she changed her mind. She said she tries to reduce plastic in her life and worries about the effects of chemicals that could be in the synthetic turf.
“This is one of the most natural places we have — how can we just cover it with a plastic carpet?” she said.
Dangerous Play: Studies find harmful ‘forever chemicals’ in artificial turf fields
BEYOND PLASTIC, March 13, 2024
…Just last year, the City of Philadelphia installed a $7.5 million field at Murphy Recreation Center in South Philadelphia that was supposedly free of PFAS. Now, we’re learning that tests run on the turf used and the testing used to attempt to detect PFAS on this turf was incredibly flawed, leading to results that said the artificial turf was PFAS-free, when in fact it was not.