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.

@herethereandeverywhere Are you suggesting that reinforced concrete is preferred to plastic grass?

I think you should go back and re-read what was said as I was answering a specific post. providing a better alternative to a poster who covered an already concreted base with artificial grass.

Any yet again your another poster whom every thing that has been said in this thread has already gone over your head. Quite frankly I'm not interested in going over the same thing over and over again, you have quite blatantly ignored the issues with microplastics, chemical leaching into the environment and its effects on ecosystems, biodiversity and are confusing that particular issue with a completely separate discussion of carbon footprint.

Thats doing nothing. If you can't sacrifice flying twice a year or plastic grass etc, you're not going to be doing anything else

it's giving people agency, which is the sensible thing to do.

uniess all you actually want to achieve is lecturing others to make yourself feel better.

Well yeah. You said 'I didn't say do nothing!' But that's exactly what you're saying. You're saying people do worse xyz, I need my Amazon subscription of artificial grass... that's doing nothing.

Personally, I don't care to lecture because some people don't care until they see, it's that simple. I'm just interested to hear what people say.

I won't lie, I was tempted by some fake grass in the supermarket as an outdoor carpet on the patio but knew I shouldn't. Changing your behaviour = acting. Refusing to sacrifice any pleasures = doing nothing.

But that's exactly what you're saying.

Not at all. I'm saying give everyone a carbon allowance so they make changes, but based on their priorities.

if you aren't capable of or interested in engaging with that thought then 🤷‍♀️

I have a single roll on my patio. The dog loves to lie on it. Not really sure what is harmful about that.

I think I read somewhere that some artificial grass can get very hot to the touch in prolonged sunshine, don't know how true that is, but you might want to check it now and again.

I'm saying give everyone a carbon allowance so they make changes, but based on their priorities

The big issue with fake grass is not about its carbon footprint, it's the destroying local ecosystems, leaking plastics into the ground and water etc that is the issue with fake grass.

The big issue with fake grass is not about its carbon footprint, it's the destroying local ecosystems, leaking plastics into the ground and water etc that is the issue with fake grass.

And that's an issue with building on grass more generally, so whatever regs apply to that could be applied to putting fake grass down

@Cheeseplant72 you quoted part of my post, so I was responding to that I think the person that has misunderstood is you.

1. The change to ecosystems by covering existing concrete with plastic, is negligible. There is so much plastic everywhere that this decision is meaningless in the scheme of things. See also kids playgrounds covered with similar surfaces.

1. My daily decisions on carbon footprint have an overall greater +ve environmental impact than 5m x 5m of plastic grass.

Do you drive by the way? In addition to carbon footprint, what % of all the vehicles you have ever owned are recyclable? What is the environmental impact of that?.

And that's an issue with building on grass more generally, so whatever regs apply to that could be applied to putting fake grass down

Nope, building using wood/concrete etc does not leak micro plastics into the earth.

It would be a good idea to rip up all of this astroturf (and monoculture lawns) to dig vegetable patches then. Looks like I'm ahead of the curve.

Why do you keep bringing up carbon emissions? This thread is about a product whose primary harms are loss of biodiversity and leaching of microplastics into the soil. Carbon emissions don't figure quite so highly in this specific case.

Therefore in terms of biodiversity and microplastics, your whataboutery referencing meat consumption and flying has little relevance (for the record I neither drive, nor fly).

Why do you keep bringing up carbon emissions?

Because there are scores of posts on this thread saying it's bad for the environment. Which of course you already know.

This thread is about a product whose primary harms are loss of biodiversity and leaching of microplastics into the soil.

So similar to building on grass. I presume all the man made materials used in building cause their own problems for soil

@TheKeatingFive that hilarious, the only circular argument is coming from you.constantly repeating the same old line. You seem super invested in this thread, possibly a bit of plastic buyers remorse?

As I pointed out earlier, I don't even have fake grass 😂

Why the snobbery over plastic lawns, when people don't complain about gardens being paved over?

If people are so concerned about the environment, are you all vegan? This has a far greater environmental impact

If people are so concerned about the environment, are you all vegan? This has a far greater environmental impact
As I said up thread, most of the information on the environmental impact of meat-eating is based on how it is currently produced. Move to more regenerative methods and you change the conversation. Furthermore, the biggest contribution to the environmental damage of meat-eating is the space cleared for livestock. The problem with fake lawns is they do exactly the same thing. There is more space available in private gardens in the UK then all of the national nature reserves combined. So for the sake of wildlife in the UK, the most important conversation is what we do with our gardens. I can’t believe the vegan conversation gets so much air time and this doesn’t. The problem is the same. The very least the government can do is some research into how harmful fake lawns are. I guess they might need to if they’re going to be net zero by 2050.

Why the snobbery over plastic lawns, when people don't complain about gardens being paved over?

Perhaps becuse a common reason to pave over the front is to put the car on it, and however much some carry on about the planet they won't be separated from their cars?

In fairness it wouldn't be easy anyway, since despite the urging to use public transport it's disappearing at a rate of knots in many areas

Because the ecosystem can work with paving, it’s not poisoning the environment.

Also it doesn’t look horrid.

How about that resin bonded driveways? Are they ban worthy?

I'm with the Op. when some of us are trying to cut back on plastic, others are literally coating the earth in it

What's wrong with mud?!

I don’t think replacing grass with fake grass is a brilliant idea, you won’t get foraging birds, hedgehogs etc and they need all the help they can get. I also heard it kills the creatures that live in the earth underneath. Worms can’t come up through it and they die which is bad for the soil.
But fake grass to brighten up a courtyard garden/patio? I fail to see the problem. I have a garden rug for my patio which amounts to the same thing.

www.jackwallington.com/17-reasons-to-avoid-fake-lawns-how-bad-is-artificial-grass-for-the-environment/