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."

Mine looks great and don't have to mow it. What's not to like?

My last house we put in AG. Absolutely loved it!! The garden became useable again. We kept a border and had pots too. Before, we never had time to mow it, most of the year it was muddy and horrible.
My DH did actually hoover and clean it 😄 as we have dogs so I liked that I knew their piss had been washed off. It was never too hot to walk on. Got it done year before lock down, THANK GOD!! Meant we got to enjoy being outside all the time there were restrictions.

We've moved now and have a baby. Natural grass. I love watching the birds on the lawn, but we never have time to mow it so have a gardener do it. It's not a big space and tbh due to the weather and the grass being wet I've been out in the garden twice in 2 years. I can't wait to get astro so it's actually a useable space. Our neighbours will hate us as they're all gardeners, retired, who are great at growing own veg and having immaculate lawns. But no fucks given 😆😆

I know for all of us we think of our back gardens as "just a small area, it doesn't matter".

But it really does. All the back gardens in the UK add up to the size of Wales. That's a huge area to lose.

The UK is the most nature deprived country in Europe and many of our species are really struggling.

Hedgehogs will be gone in our lifetimes at the current rate.

When we first moved into our house 13 years ago we had a lawn of sorts. The garden was very uneven and there was more moss and weeds than lawn because of all the crap that came onto the garden from the railway embankment at the end of it.

We had the lawn relayed at not inconsiderable expense and within a couple of years it was the same - more moss and weeds rather than lawn. It was awful, and the amount of upkeep to try and get it looking better was too much. DH decided that he’d had enough and we had a false lawn laid. It looks fine. And we get plenty of wildlife in our garden. You don’t like it? Whatever, but it works for us.

I hate it. It’s revolting, terrible for the environment, and looks horrible. I walked past a house in this street last week with their lawn all ripped up and lying in bits out the front and the rolls of artificial stuff out ready to go down. Genuinely made me feel like crying.

My Mum has it, she is has osteoarthritis in her knees and struggles to maintain her garden. It really helps her be able to enjoy her garden and get much needed vitamin D. She doesn't have to worry about ensuring its mowed so the grandkids can play etc. It has its purpose. I have normal grass, finding time to mow it can be a bit of a pain but I won't swap to artificial.

Everybody has a choice, you don't have to have fake grass in the garden.

Our garden is completely concreted but we don't have the skills/money to break it all up and start again. Still would never have considered fake grass - we've created a lovely container garden instead. Didn't need a play area but would have looked at using bark if we had.

It does look absolutely shit as well. You may have reasons/excuses for why you put it down but your garden looks shit is the bottom line. Anyone who says it looks nice just doesn’t want to offend you.

I'm genuinely amazed that people can ignore the fact that it's poisonous.

I get that people want to tell "haters" to fuck off, it's their garden, they don't give a shit about environmental stuff etc...

But it's poisonous? How do people square that in their heads?

Do people think that the scientists doing the research are just being "snobby"?

Love my little patch of artificial grass. Yes I am going to say that I bought the expensive stuff! Made from recycled plastic and 100% recyclable. Suits my purpose.

Mmm it’s going to be a beautiful day tomorrow.

Let’s get the pressure washer out and hose the dried dog piss off the plastic grass.

So glad we do this and don’t have to you know, mow

For those with awful lawns - embrace it a litttle more. Sow other things into it. Eventually mow a path

Pic one is a part of our garden where lawn grass has never thrived - soil is too thin and poor quality. So we have sown meadow planting. This isn't it at it's beautiful peak! Currently it's full of poppies and ragged robin. Early spring it had cowslips and fritillaries. Later it will get cornflowers.
Pic 2 is where lawn grass does grow. Albeit not perfectly. But who cares?

Where on earth do you live that grass has been "wet" and the weather hasn't been good enough to go into the garden more than twice in 2 years?

That's beautiful!

I'm working on a wildflower meadow out front

There are alternative types of lawn, such as clover, that don't need as much mowing. You also don't need to have a large lawn. Devote some space to planting borders then put in low maintenance shrubs that will only need a haircut once or twice a year. Some areas can also have stone chippings on, perhaps add ornamental rocks or whatever. Plant a fruit tree/budlea or two for wildlife to visit.

Lawn size and maintenance can be minimised if you struggle with time or don't like gardening.

Your meadow is beautiful!

Thank you @Peacepudding and @DataNotLore
I have to say it's also the cheapest option - far cheaper I'd have thought than plastic grass. Meadow planting does best on the worst soil. So if your traditional lawn doesn't thrive this is the answer. You can still mow paths or areas.
They're also deeply cool 😎 😂

I was sceptical 4 years ago when we began our meadow journey but honestly I have no regrets and it's become very easy and self perpetuating.
The biggest Kay off is the birdsong. It's really ramped up.

I can assure you, if I were your neighbour I would hate it. Grass doesn't need to be perfect - have a meadow, for all I care. Plastic grass looks shit and is terrible for the environment.

Some alternatives for those who think carpeting the natural world with plastic is the only answer where a traditional grass lawn makes life slightly inconvenient:

Use different grass species which grow in shade
Moss
Clover
Creeping thyme
Corsican mint
Wood bark / mulch
Gravel
Japanese-style gardens

Or a combination of any of the above.

I cannot stand plastic grass, I see People using it every where with their new kids crawling all over it and admiring with pride their new pristine green coloured mats.

As you say OP the chemicals are one thing but that is just part of it.

As it degrades micro plastics leech into the soil, with toxic chemicals, this kills micro and macro invribrates in the soil, it infects and pollutes our ground water, it runs into our drains getting into both the food chain and water supplies.

It builds up over time and accumulates in all our species of wildlife destroying the eco system.

Replacing grasses and other plants and hedges with plastic increases traffic and other air pollution in our homes and surrounding areas which the flora once absorbed, causing breathing issues with their children.

Baby birds suffer when they hatch as parents can no longer forage as plentifully as they one did due to the lack of insects available. Baby birds are born with soft beaks, they need soft soil and lawns to get to grubs and worms. When replaced with plastic grass this habitat lost and the leached chemicals and heat from plastic lawns harden up surrounding soils.

Other species of mammals suffer, as they cannot dig fro grubs at night and when the do forage off plastic grass they consume micro plastic, plastic grass also holds no micro climate so there is no cooling and this also affects small mammals like hedgehogs and newts will dry up and die trying to cross it.

Sorry for the long rant but any one defending this stuff has zero consideration for wider ecological impacts.

It isnt either/or. We have plastic grass but also wide borders plus we have planted about 80 fruit trees in the last few years.

Plastic grass gives us space we can use rather than the various failed attempts to get a lawn to survive which just left us with an unusable mud patch.

Interesting comments. I have seen fake grass in beautiful houses with expensive art collections in very rich neighbourhoods of very upper class families. I have heard people attending garden parties asking where they can get it themselves. One of the houses was sold for 5 millions last summer and is far from tacky. I do not supposed the people who hates the idea of fake grass are all environmentalists nutters?

Rich people can be tacky too

What does that have to do with anything? Money doesn’t buy class as they say.

if having a back garden that looks like a butcher’s shop window didn’t cause more widespread harm then fine but it does so we’re all at liberty to comment on it