The Eden project in Cornwall has installed plastic grass in the playground to prevent contamination.
The garden is one of a number of organizations and public bodies that put artificial grass in what environmental activists say is a plague epidemic that is taking place in the UK. There has been a surge in interest in the UK in buying artificial grass during the blockade, according to Google Trends.
The growing fashion for installing plastic instead of natural lawns is coming when artificial grass retailers are making stronger environmental claims about their products.
The latest development is an artificial grass known as “air”, which manufacturers say is able to purify air pollution by oxidizing organic components and odors at the molecular level.
Campaigners describe this as greenwash and point out that natural grass already “cleans the air” through photosynthesis, absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. The grass also provides habitat for insects and worms, attracts invertebrate birds, and helps rainwater drain away.
Richard Dowling, a campaign participant, said the speed and scale with which natural gardens had been removed and replaced with plastic was a “disaster”. “This is something that is rapidly taking over and we must now treat it as a disaster. If we lose all our gardens, our wildlife – which has already been pushed out by intensive agriculture and pesticides – will have nowhere to go. ”
Google searches for artificial grass graphics
The United Kingdom has lost more of its natural biodiversity since the Industrial Revolution than almost anywhere in Europe, according to a study by scientists at the Natural History Museum in London. Dowling has launched a petition to introduce a tax on environmental damage to artificial grass.
Carlisle City Council, which says in its mission on climate change that it wants to play a full role in environmental protection, was recently criticized for spending £ 50,000 on a pop-up park that uses artificial grass.
The Somerset County Council laid plastic grass on the roundabout and then sent an employee to cut it with a trimmer.
The Eden project confirmed that it used plastic grass in a playground. Its mission is said to be dedicated to improving the collective understanding of the relationships between all living things … clean air, clean water, fertile soil, rich biodiversity.
A spokesman said: “To ensure the safety of children who enjoy this temporary play area, we have decided to use durable and soft artificial grass that will be used repeatedly. True grass in this context would turn to mud in a few hours and therefore would not be sustainable.
Studies show that plastic grass – which is most often made from a mixture of plastics – polypropylene, polyurethane and polyethylene – increases heat in the areas where it is used. When it breaks down, it can release microplastics into the environment that are thought to be harmful to humans.
There is little data on the carbon footprint of artificial grass, most of which is produced in China and Vietnam and shipped to the United Kingdom. “It’s a fossil fuel product,” said Charlotte Howard, a Wiltshire gardener who runs a natural garden campaign.
Howard says the fake weed boom has been turbocharged by social media influencers such as Ms. Hinch. Howard specializes in helping families in newly built homes whose gardens have poor soil as a result of developers removing and selling the top soil, leaving the garden with poor soil and no drainage.
“When I went to remove artificial turf, the mess was horrifying. They often stink, and when you pick up the plastic grass, you find a sea of dead worms, ”she said.
Howard said that despite the manufacturers’ claims, artificial lawns are not without maintenance. Pets ‘feces must be scraped off, a pile of grass must be swept away, weeds creep through them, pets’ urine causes bad odors and plastic eventually breaks down, she said.
Dr. Robert Francis, an ecologist at King’s College London, is studying the environmental impact of plastic grass. “Artificial lawns meet the cultural requirements for ‘good’ lawns,” he wrote. “Yet they do it at the expense of every other” naturalness “and embodiment of life.”
He said his research found that artificial grass could increase the risk of urban flooding, as rainfall could not drain into the soil, leaving more of it to leak.
The Association of Artificial Grass Installers did not respond to requests for comment.
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