To spread awareness of the toxicity of plastic grass?

[DataNotLore]

Here: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35948114/#:~:text=Numerous%20studies%20have%20shown%20that,%2C%20mutagens%2C%20and%20endocrine%20disruptors.

Not only is it bad for the environment but it's probably bad for your health too.

The issues are still being investigated, but:

"Numerous studies have shown that chemicals identified in artificial turf, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are known carcinogens, neurotoxicants, mutagens, and endocrine disruptors."

So you don't give a shiny shit about the creatures that share your outside space? Creatures that are an essential part of an ecosystem that is already beginning to collapse?

The stuff will be banned in the future and people will wonder why it was ever used.

Grass is easy to take care of. Just leave it be. Mow it once a month or so. Or just in the Autumn, ypu can mow the parts you need to use more often or mow paths through it. Looks really pretty.

again, people not reading properly, I cannot mow it, i have really bad arthritis, I cannot even hold a toothbrush properly and can barely wipe my own arse, so gardening is just not happening

It's not about what other people think.
It's about the fact that it's toxic.

Do you honestly not care?

I don't understand this "well everything is toxic attitude". By that logic we shouldn't worry about cigarettes, car fumes, asbestos, lead paint on toys...

Sorry to hear that. I have increasingly arthritic knees, a family trait, sadly.

How will you manage the rest of the garden? IME borders and pots need more looking after than the grass. Or will you just have the artificial grass?

Nobody needs plastic grass. Yesterday I saw a woman buy a plastic tree. That tree will survive her. People want the beauty but none of the effort, and none of the benefit of growing or nurturing a living thing.

It's the difference between gardening and furnishing

It's sick to be honest. Destroying our natural environment so we can replicate that same environment with plastic and chemical scent. It's straight out of dystopian novels.

Nope, never. I just lay on it 24/7 in my cocoon.

Or you know, I was replying to the comments about people wanting to actively encourage these things into their yards. I don't. That's not a priority in my life and it doesn't realistically make any difference to anyone else.

@DataNotLore - yes, this why people talk about outside space, yards, or garden rooms. So for many people they don't really think about the natural or environmental nature of the outdoors.

The interesting thing is that they are actually degrading their own environment. One example. A garden with grass and trees will be cooler and more pleasant to be in over a hot summer. That's old home knowledge. If you put down plastic grass, there is no cooling for the house, those outside.

Gardens used to be for rich people. It seems that we are going back to that idea.

are you in america @RoomOfRequirement ? I notice your use of yard not garden. It would be interesting if you were because it could be that things are a little less nature friendly there. I speak as someone who lived there years ago and can see how that could be the case.

It does make a difference to other people though, that is the issue. If everyone covered their gardens with plastic, it would have a huge effect.

I'm not, but I spend time there for work so apparently picked up some of their words!

And you're absolutely right. Honestly, being in the US so much is what made me get disenfranchised about things like climate change. They do not give a shit there, no public transport, 4 cars to a house, driving a 10 minute walk multiple times a day, 800 carrier bags given per supermarket trip, either heating or air con all like 11 months of the year. It made me realise my tiny contributions in the UK don't really mean anything.

Except clearly everyone isn't. Everyone is doing the best they can for their lifestyle, and what's important to them. There are a lot of things which would cause problems if 'everyone' did it, but they're not banned.

For everyone in this thread who thinks the plastic lawns look shit, someone else thinks their garden, or house, or car looks shit. Even people having houses in areas with lots of wildlife is damaging their natural habitats and killing them off. People buying and building houses in terraces, meaning no space at all for wildlife. Constantly building roads and shopping centers and pubs and cafes in rural areas etc.

Again, different priorities. Everyone is always happy to get rid of things that are not going to make their own lives harder/less enjoyable, when if they really cared about making a difference their lives would be completely opposite to everyone else's.

It made me realise my tiny contributions in the UK don't really mean anything.

Actually you could not be more wrong with this statement, your actions at home in the UK directly affect the Status of biodiversity and loss of species within the UK.

Wildlife in the UK is in trouble. The UK has lost almost half of its biodiversity since the 1970s. 15% of the 8,431 species are threatened with extinction and 2% are already extinct. That’s not counting the species we don’t know about, just the ones that we are aware of.
Overall 41% of species have declined. Of these, 26% of mammals are at risk of extinction and 22% of bird species have declined. Some animals have fared badly. Hedgehogs and turtle doves have declined by 95% and 98% respectively.

As well as that Micro and Macro plastics go directly in to our own ground water and food chain again localised issues.

This comment was about climate change. Global warming. The things that we need the entire world to change, but having become more well-traveled the last few years I've noticed the UK population is doing so much more than much bigger populations like the US. The politicians there often talk the talk, but ultimately multiple states of people don't walk the walk.

But this is a thread derail, just interesting the UK/US divide on that kind of thing.

Regarding your comment, I'm not disagreeing, it's just one of those things where ME having a plastic lawn isn't going to change any of it. There are many, many, many more things we do as a society contributing and causing more harm. We just decide those things are ok.

I guess I’ll have to just pave our entire garden then. Sick of the neighbours whinging that we let our grass grow too long and we have dandelions

America is probably one of the biggest contributors to climate change on the planet but what are the rest of us to do?

Just copy them?

Fuck up the planet for our children even faster by joining in?

It's none of their business.

That abstract you’ve linked to tells us nothing useful about toxicity of fake grass to humans though.

Issue of toxicity related to leeching of the underlay affecting invertebrates are an environmental problem. Might be important environmentally, but we aren’t invertebrates living in the soul.

The other animal studies evidence there doesn’t say anything meaningful about health effects of walking or playing on artificial grass.

There are toxic chemicals in loads of things in your house and garden. But, because we don’t eat or drink them, they aren’t harmful to human health.

Injecting stuff into a chicken egg is a totally different scenario.

What is the actual risk to human health you’re trying to highlight here?

We're not bees either but if we kill them off we're toast.

Plant clover.

It never fried too high and crowds other weeds out.

It is utterly dystopian. And people clearly do not give a shit.

I'd be interested in the mental health effects as well as physical ones.

It is well known that being in natural, green spaces and having contact with nature is good for our mental health. We didn't evolve to live separate from nature.

I wonder about the long-term impacts on those who live in completely artificial plastic environments with no exposure to nature, and in particular the impact on children who grow up in such environments. I think there have been some studies done on the impact of growing up in e.g. high rise flats and it was considered negative in comparison to houses, but there were multiple factors at play there such as overcrowding.

My idiotic neighbours were measuring up for the fake stuff yesterday. I suppose some people just don't care about nature.

Yeah @Lockheart I'd rather breathe in terpenes than plastic fumes.

My husband's five a side football team won't play on Astroturf. Injuries are worse apparently and they just don't find it pleasant to play on.