Rolled up: is synthetic turf on Australian sports fields worth the environmental risk?

It's durable, resilient and lower-maintenance than natural grass - but there's still many downsides and unknowns to artificial turfGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastTwo years ago the Northern Beaches council replaced the worn-out synthetic turf from a council oval, replacing natural grass with the product sometimes known as astroturf. The council had included in its contract a requirement that it be recycled and not sent to landfill - but federal legislation passed in 2020 meant that it was more difficult to export plastic waste to overseas facilities.A permit was not granted, so the rolls of old turf sat for nearly 18 months until they were removed earlier this year. They are now in a container in a railway siding, awaiting the completion of a recycling plant capable of separating the various components that make up the product. Continue reading...