Artificial garden lawns - what a weird world

[Figmentofmyimagination]

Another installed on our street. I just don’t understand it. Why would anyone do this?

There is a petition to ban their sale for installation in residential dwellings if you want to sign it:

It’s only got 5,900 signatures so far, which seems a pretty low number, given how much of a no brainer this is, imo. Maybe that’s just me.

petition deleted by MNHQ as we don't allow them, we're afraid.

The fact is I have no interest in trying to persuade some one like you, who has no intention of listening as can be seen by every single post in this thread. If you want to act ignorant get all defensive rather then become slightly more educated that's on you not me.

Well if all you actually want to do is bask in a sense of your own a uperiority, I guess you've gotten what you wanted from this thread 😆

Arghh where are my bloody paragraphs?

Dismissing it as whataboutery is just trying to avoid being pulled up for your hypocrisy.

Quite. But as I keep saying, there is no point at all in trying to talk about environmental issues in isolation.

How can we when everyone's circumstances are so different and all that it ends up in is 'I want everyone else to stop doing this one thing because I don't like it. But all the other worse stuff is fine, because I'm cool with that'

That grass doesn't grow in certain conditions is not a good enough argument, sorry.

it may not be good enough for you, but that's irrelevant to everyone else who doesn't need to run their decisions by you, just as you don't need to run yours by them.

What happens when everyone gets a plastic lawn because it's easier to maintain? You're saying it's ok because other people curate gardens with grass and plants. Other people are being mindful.

In others words, it's just one. It's just one plastic bag. It's just one sofa flytipped. What happesn when others follow?

Educating people doesn't work because there's a certain type of person who do not care. Like the woman who drove her car at protestors. As soon as they hear 'green/environment/biodiversity', they switch off, or worse, deliberately act more wasteful.

There are more environmentally friendly alternatives if, for whatever reason, you can't maintain a natural lawn.

@TheKeatingFive

rather than educate them self's 😂😂😂

How can we when everyone's circumstances are so different and all that it ends up in is 'I want everyone else to stop doing this one thing because I don't like it. But all the other worse stuff is fine, because I'm cool with that'

Lots of people aren't ok with other things. Not enough, though. Some things are unavoidable. I'm sure there's better options than plastic grass, we can do without it

A patio made of natural materials plus hiding sport for critters, plant borders, pots...

So your not going to actually come back with any thing of substance in any of your posts, every single post you have to every single person on this thread is just whataboutery. From what i can see there have been numerous posts with very good information based of fact and quite a few have questions you have ignored multiple times, because you have no real interest, knowledge or legitimate answers so you just troll, its plain to see.

Now if you actually ask for some resources to educate yourself, feel free but you wont because you live under a bridge.

I just think instead of being nasty on Mumsnet it would be a better use of time to try and encourage good behaviour rather than calling fake lawn owners low iq and uneducated.

Some people are going to be unreceptive but that's true of any message. There could be initiatives like selling more bee friendly plants at the supermarket so people might casually purchase them who might not otherwise engage with biodiversity ideas, advertising other low maintenance options at the point of sale for fake grass to show other possibilities. There's lots that can be done. A lot of people will be buying fake grass because they can't think of what else to do with their garden, encouraging positive action is likely to get better results.

I think fake lawns are bad but I think some of the abuse leveled at the people who have them in this thread has gone too far. I think trying to come up with solutions is a better approach than badmouthing people.

Lots of people aren't ok with other things.

im willing to bet that the vast majority do one of the following; eat meat, have kids, drive cars, take foreign holidays. Any one of which is much more impactful than a bit of fake grass.

Not everyone flies abroad, only people rich enough to have a sprawling fake lawn do that.

So tedious bringing up kids. Yes, most people care precisely because hey have kids. The bigger question is why don't seem to.

Any kind of food has a carbon footprint. Even if I starve myself, my corpse will emit gas, so I guess you'll be we be happy.

@RitaFires

Of course, there are people less familiar with gardening, ecosystems etc. who opt for a fake lawn. We've all made uniformed decisions, most people wouldn't have a go for that. I'm sure posters are dishing it from both sides - 'snobs' made a few appearances

@orchiddottyback
So your not going to actually come back with any thing of substance in any of your posts, every single post you have to every single person on this thread is just whataboutery.
Apparently not 😅

Talking of whataboutery… I can’t work through a basic SWOT analysis that leads to people installing fake grass. But I can for plenty of other things that are harmful for the environment. A handful of people on this thread citing disabilities I can get understand (they want a no-maintenance outdoor space and aren’t repulsed by the look), but I don’t understand the rationale for most of the posters defending it. Is there a bit of germ anxiety going into the decisions? I can’t work out why kids can’t get muddy?!

I'm sorry to single you out, as you're not the only one to have done this. I said before that this sounds like whataboutery. It takes us off the topic at hand.

I don't do any of those things, as my concern about the environment is general and not confined to plastic lawns. I'm sure I'm far from alone judging from this thread.

So tedious bringing up kids.

Its also complete bollocks. People not having kids ends the existence of humans. The planet might be overpopulated based on how we currently use it, but not if we are nicer to it. So two things need to happen: replacing like for like (two kids per couple) and making choices that positively impact the planet. Installing fake grass isn’t just damaging to the environment, it’s activity chowing to ignore an opportunity to positively impact it.

Yeah, If I had 6 children, maybe PPs would have a point, but I don't😂

Its deadful stuff. Its enviromwntally a nightmare .. id be embarassed to have it and to.set that eg to my kids.
Yes we all do things wrong enviromenrally .. ef drive a car ( but I cant cycle , bus,or walk to work )but this seems a worse thing as you have such a vast choice of alternatives to plastic gardens ..

I'm no snob. I hate it when you see posts on here looking down on other people's home decor and choices but fake grass is something that I cannot get my head around. It's not the look of it (the expensive stuff can look OK), but why would you want to remove nature from an outdoor space and cover it in plastic? I'm all for a ban, it's a shitty thing to do IMO.

@ReeseWitherfork Exactly.

I'm more than happy and I'm positive plenty more people on this thread would be willing to offer advice and supply plenty of links for resources to aid people who are genuinely interested. If some one uses fake grass because at the time they did not understand the full impacts, both locally and globally. I will not try to judge them, but when they come on and defend it with whataboutery then yes I will 100%.

These people are so detached from the fact they are part of the complex web of ecology and ecosystem services that provided their water, air, food, medicine, and materials that they no longer see themselves part of the the crisis facing the future of all species on the planet right now including ourselves.

Also… “eating meat”. Eye roll. So much of the conversation is about how meat is bad based on how it is currently produced. Lots of farmers looking into regenerative methods though. And lots of consumers buying meat farmed in this way, and increasingly so. If person A had said “eating beef is bad for the environment” and everyone replied by saying “I don’t care, flying is worse” then this progress may not have been made. So let’s actually have a conversation about plastic lawns without the “my garden, my choice” and whataboutery arguments shutting it down.

It's only bollocks if a reduction in the human population would have no benefit to the environment.

Love mine. I'd never have it if I had pets though that would be gross.

”based on how we currently use it”

If every person on the planet was carbon negative then a reduction in human population would have negative impact on the environment. And so the “don’t have kids” argument is, as I said, bollocks.

I like to be educated and love nature.

If mine in being harmful I will remove it.

It's 3m x 4m placed on concrete & isn't cleaned.

It's not whataboutery.

What would be the justification for banning it when there are much worse things environmentally that no one's talking about banning?

Much better to work on the basis of giving people a carbon allowance and letting them make their decisions with that.

Thats not even referencing the hypocrisy point. If there are vegan, childless, non car owning, non travelling, living off grid people commenting here then yes they probably have some moral grounds for judgement, but these people are very few and far between as we all know. If you want to argue against the scientific consensus of how bad meat eating/having children/foreign travel/etc is for the planet, then that's on you but there are thousands of expert sources supporting those points.