Artificial turf or natural grass through an environmental lens

Editor's Note: The following is part of a class project originally initiated in the classroom of Ball State University professor Adam Kuban in fall 2021. Kuban has continued the project, including this fall semester, challenging his students to find sustainability efforts in the Muncie area. The students pitched their ideas to Deanna Watson, editor of The Star Press, Journal & Courier and Pal-Item.

MUNCIE, Ind. – On Sept. 11, 2023, NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, playing his first game for the New York Jets on their turf surface, went down with an Achilles injury that will likely keep him out for the entire 2023 season.

In the moments after the game, conversation began about whether artificial turf increases injuries and if natural grass is safer.

Much has been written about the debate — mostly through the prism of player safety and injuries. What hasn’t been discussed as much is the environmental impacts that come with both surfaces.

Over the summer, Muncie Central High School installed artificial turf with the help of the company Sprinturf. Jeff Fowler is a regional salesman for the company. He sits in on all the meetings with schools to show the benefits of using turf fields and then collaborates with the construction companies to make it happen.

Even with all his knowledge, there’s still some mystery around what the environmental consequences of turf are.

“Sustainable for the environment? I mean there’s some stuff out there, but I haven’t really dug into it that much,” Fowler said. “I don’t know what the difference would be.”

Installed in 1964 at Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, the very first artificial turf field was meant for youth recreational sports to have a field to play on year-round. Even though a lot of discussions originate from the professional level, youth and high-school sports are emerging as the biggest groups for turf surface installation.

According to an article published in 2022 by the Daily Journal, the Indiana High School Athletic Association stated that 37% of all high school fields in Indiana are artificial turf — up from 27% in 2018. That number continues to grow with Delaware County schools like Wes-Del and Muncie Central adding turf fields in 2023.

Christopher Walker is the principal at Muncie Central High School. He helped negotiate with the contractors for the project. With the first sports season completed on the turf, he’s seen plenty of advantages that come with it.

“The biggest positive so far has just been the durability and for us to be able to host multiple things without the fear of the facility being overused,” Walker said.

The artificial turf at Muncie Central’s stadium has seen competitive action from several teams, such as its varsity and JV football squads and its soccer team. Junior-high football and youth football games also occur on the turf field. Having all their events in one place at a ready-made surface can be an argument for why the investment is sustainable.

First, it saves water and water costs. According to a 2015 report by “Football NSW,” the average natural grass field needs 150,000 liters (almost 40,000 gallons) of water per week. To offer a comparison, the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) reports that an average family of four uses almost 400 gallons of water per day.

That means a week’s worth of water for a grass field equals 3.5 months' worth of water for the average family.

Second, the costs of upkeep and potential environmental harm decrease. Mowers are no longer needed — and fertilizers for grass along with paint used for boundary lines can be harmful due to the runoff created when it rains. With turf, that doesn’t exist.

The assistant principal at Muncie Central, Justin Oliver, is also the facility coordinator at the school and sees the ways their maintenance of the facility has changed.

“We don’t have to get two to four mowers to get the field ready (or) to get the soccer field ready,” Oliver said. “Our painting crew is usually a two-man crew, but they come out with some big equipment. That saves a ton of man hours.”

Turf isn’t completely absolved from environmental issues, though.

Other evidence suggests that turf doesn’t absorb water well, which leads to more runoff. Microplastics from the infill in the turf can get in the water, causing harm to the environment. Infill is a material placed between the plastic blades of the turf, acting as dirt for natural grass. Infill can range from something complex like thermoplastic elastomers to something as simple as ground-up tennis shoe soles. Really, any rubber material can do.

According to research done by Professor Gilbert Pulley at Brigham Young University (BYU), on a summer day, turf got as high as 86 degrees hotter than natural grass. This creates heat islands, or areas that experience higher temperatures than other surrounding areas.

Back in 2015, high school players in Texas complained about the turf melting their cleats in 100-degree temperatures. As the global temperature continues to rise, turf fields can create a problem for teams trying to practice on them.

Since the turf doesn’t need much water, it can be used to cool down the surface. But, as the study found, after just 20 minutes, the surface rises back to near its original temperature. As global temperatures continue to rise, this can become an issue.

Schools that use turf like Muncie Central might not understand the environmental impacts, but they justify its use by pointing out the durability that comes with it. It’s also important to see the negative consequences as well when it comes to rising temperatures and microplastic runoff. Over 10,000 turf fields are being used across America from pro sports to youth sports. More research must be done to figure out which playing surface is safer for athletes and for the environment.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Artificial turf or natural grass through an environmental lens