Can Artificial Grass Be Recycled?

The demand for artificial grass in large areas such as football fields and gardens has grown rapidly over the past few years, but as more and more people remove and replace their fake turf the build-up of material going to waste seemed endless. That is until now.

With an average lifespan of 7-10 years, it is inevitable that large amounts of material destined for landfills will pile up every year, however, not only is this bad but the environment, but it can also be extremely expensive.

So what should be happening to all that man-made material? Well, a huge step in the industry means that there is now equipment, which can effectively remove and reclaim the fake turf.

Most artificial grass is made up of a mixture of different plastics, sand and rubber, and while the plastic can be recycled quite easily, it is difficult to separate it from the infill components. However, new equipment is able to successfully remove the sand and rubber, leaving a clean plastic carpet to be put through the recycling process individually. Finally, the processed turf can be repurposed or recycled into other products.

After recycling, your old artificial grass may be used for anything from school bags to dog bowls or even as topdressing on natural grass. It may be that it is repurposed and used in a less fortunate area. There are endless possibilities after the synthetic turf comes to the end of its own useful life.