Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

How to get rid of artificial grass

132 replies

jobnockey · 26/04/2022 16:14

Hi all,
In process of buying a house at the moment which has a lovely sized and garden which I can't wait to get my hands on. HOWEVER, one area of it is covered with plastic grass. I passionately hate artificial grass and want to remove it immediately but feel like I need a plan before I start ripping it up on moving in day

Does anyone know what is going to be underneath it? Will I be able to seed the area, or should I try and splash out on turf? Should I wait until a specific time of the year to do this? It's a decent sized area , perhaps 4x5m.

Finally, what should I do with it? I feel conflicted about selling it (although the money would be useful) as I don't want to perpetuate the stuff, but on the other hand if someone is going to use it anyway, at least it saves it being produced and bought new again... Reusing is probably better than recycling right? Does it actually recycle, does anyone know? Would it have to go to a specialist place for recycling?

If anyone has dealt with a similar situation who can offer any words of wisdom that would be great.

OP posts:
PeterpiperpickedapeckofpickledPEPPAS · 26/04/2022 16:17

Feed it to some artificial rabbits.

Tessasanderson · 26/04/2022 16:26

Chances are there will be the artificial grass which will come up like a rolled carpet. Then you will have a 10-20mm layer of sharp sand which will clear easily enough. Then comes the 20-40mm of fine dust aggregate which will have been compacted. Again, pretty easy to lift. Finally the heavier grade aggregate. This can be upto 100mm thick depending on if there is a gradient etc. This will be compacted to within an inch of its life and hard work to remove.

How do i know, i have just recently watch my garden being laid with it ;-) Each to their own but we love ours and our year round garden suits our lifestyle. Not for everyone though.

TheNewUpdateIsShit · 26/04/2022 16:35

Each to their own but we love ours and our year round garden suits our lifestyle. Not for everyone though.

Certainly not for the wildlife or the environment that's for sure 💀

Hopefully it's just compacted sand and a membrane underneath it, OP.
Good luck, I hope you have your new garden looking fantastic in no time.

clairethewitch70 · 26/04/2022 16:37

Good on you. I absolutely hate the stuff too. Maybe sell it, as others it will just e landfill.

HereticRose · 26/04/2022 16:41

our year round garden suits our lifestyle

Well, as long as your 'lifestyle' is accommodated, fuck nature, hey?

No advice OP but just wanted to say thank you for ripping up this awful stuff and hope your garden thrives once it's released from its plastic suffocation.

Tinkletwat · 26/04/2022 16:48

Good on you OP. We got rid of ours soon after buying the house. No suggestions as to what to do with it and a PP has already explained what's likely underneath. Nature says TIA.

Tessasanderson · 26/04/2022 16:49

oh ffs jog on you judgemental idiots. At what point did i say it was for everyone? I gave a nice civilised answer to the OP question and you lot jumped in for the kill. Live in glass houses much? Drive cars, use electricity, use electric/petrol lawnmower, use chemicals etc etc. How about you judge yourselves.

FYI i live next to a nature reserve. I feed the birds, i provide plenty of plants, trees and flower beds. There are bee bombs all over the place. I do my bit but i dont judge what anyone else is doing. I have an active family which means i dont have the time to cut the grass and with the 2 dogs i have it always gets turned into a mud bath for 6mths of the year anyhow.

How about just answering the ops question, at least i tried

Original poster
jobnockey · 26/04/2022 16:59

Eek - didn't mean to start a fight! I know artificial grass is divisive stuff.

Thanks @Tessasanderson for the advice, I had no idea about that!. I shall look forward to removing 100mm of compacted aggregate 😱!!!! I'm glad you enjoy your garden, everyone should enjoy their garden, but I have to admit I do worry about the trend for convenience... i think we're just doomed with microplastics in the soil, air, water everywhere now. Our vendors put it in as they're an old couple and it was supposed to be easier for them to manage so I do understand... but also, they have close family living nearby... how long does it take to mow a lawn???

AAAAnyway - trying not to be judgmental as everyone will have their reasons.

@TheNewUpdateIsShit here's hoping its just a layer of sand too!

OP posts:
NeverDropYourMooncup · 26/04/2022 17:04

Tessasanderson · 26/04/2022 16:26

Chances are there will be the artificial grass which will come up like a rolled carpet. Then you will have a 10-20mm layer of sharp sand which will clear easily enough. Then comes the 20-40mm of fine dust aggregate which will have been compacted. Again, pretty easy to lift. Finally the heavier grade aggregate. This can be upto 100mm thick depending on if there is a gradient etc. This will be compacted to within an inch of its life and hard work to remove.

How do i know, i have just recently watch my garden being laid with it ;-) Each to their own but we love ours and our year round garden suits our lifestyle. Not for everyone though.

My money's on there being a lumpen layer of knackered crazy paving or a concrete shed base and a few sprouts of what could be Japanese Knotweed. Plus a drain cover and a few rusty cans.

Why else would somebody carpet a patch if they didn't have stuff to hide?

Original poster
jobnockey · 26/04/2022 17:09

Haha @NeverDropYourMooncup I hope not! The google maps satellite image is from before the plastic grass was laid and shows a real lawn so i am hopeful there's no drain, concrete rusty cans etc. Vendors told us they just replaced the existing lawn ... such a shame!

OP posts:
Tessasanderson · 26/04/2022 17:09

@NeverDropYourMooncup hadnt thought of that. Worst case scenario someone has covered over some wildlife killer like.....god forbid a patio.....with another wildlife killer like artificial grass.

Assuming we deem a ptio to be as bad as artificial grass. Is concrete/cement suddenly good for the environment?

Giggorata · 26/04/2022 17:27

There was quite a lot of it offered on my local Freecycle recently and the lady had such a huge response that she ended up putting names in a hat!

Disclaimer: I wanted it to cover my patio that has seen better days and to put in the back of my van.

fortheloveofcheesecake · 26/04/2022 17:52

Our artificial grass covers the broken concrete and faded paving slabs left by the previous owner. It was a quick fix 5 years ago and still looks good today so I haven't bothered changing it. We are surrounded by trees, bushes, plants etc...I have no regrets!

megletthesecond · 26/04/2022 17:55

Can you get the sellers to remove the plastic to leave you with a blank slate? It's not exactly a fixture or fitting.

Adeleskirts · 26/04/2022 17:57

Tessasanderson · 26/04/2022 17:09

@NeverDropYourMooncup hadnt thought of that. Worst case scenario someone has covered over some wildlife killer like.....god forbid a patio.....with another wildlife killer like artificial grass.

Assuming we deem a ptio to be as bad as artificial grass. Is concrete/cement suddenly good for the environment?

My patio, like most people I know is natural sandstone. Very few people are cementing their back gardens now for patio.

Also the patio tends to be a small area with people having a large lawned area in their gardens along side it . The plastic grass on the other hand tends to cover nearly the whole thing with a lot of aggregate underneath to make sure nothing lives and grows through.

aesthetics is the other thing, it also looks very plastic when you get up close to it, it only looks decent from a distance.

I think it’s starting to loose it’s popularity, a bit like decorating your house in grey, as people are starting to realise it looks bad and is terrible for the environment to be manufacture metres and metres of plastic to cover your garden up .

HereticRose · 26/04/2022 18:05

Drive cars, use electricity, use electric/petrol lawnmower, use chemicals etc etc.

Don't drive. Don't mow the lawn (wildflowers and clover, mainly), everything's a chemical but if you mean the stuff like glyphosates or bleaches then, also nope.

However, I do use electricity. So yeah, you're right, guess I am therefore a massive hypocrite for believing that plastic grass is an environmental abomination, because I don't MN by candlelight...

We all make our choices, I suppose.

PeeAche2 · 26/04/2022 18:07

My mate has artificial grass and she vacuums it 😂

Just on the subject of rehoming it: if it won't sell, stick it on Freecycle. Guaranteed to find a new owner, if it's a freebie.

Pumperthepumper · 26/04/2022 18:09

I’m so glad you’re getting rid of it, it’s shit for the environment. I’m sure if you put it on Facebook someone will take it.

AllThingsServeTheBeam · 26/04/2022 18:12

Ours is raised and you would be able to roll it up. There is sand and rubble underneath for drainage.

The artificial grass was a selling point for us!

AllThingsServeTheBeam · 26/04/2022 18:17

HereticRose · 26/04/2022 18:05

Drive cars, use electricity, use electric/petrol lawnmower, use chemicals etc etc.

Don't drive. Don't mow the lawn (wildflowers and clover, mainly), everything's a chemical but if you mean the stuff like glyphosates or bleaches then, also nope.

However, I do use electricity. So yeah, you're right, guess I am therefore a massive hypocrite for believing that plastic grass is an environmental abomination, because I don't MN by candlelight...

We all make our choices, I suppose.

Eat meat? Drink milk?

MigsandTiggs · 26/04/2022 18:20

@Tessasanderson
I laid my front garden in medium length astro turf after my DH passed away, as he was the grass cutter while I was the gardener. I also have a large back garden, mostly in lawn grass and moss which my off and on gardener cuts. I retained the front border which is planted with insect friendly flowers, climbers, shrubs etc, and as some of the plants overhang the turfed area, it just looks like a well kept version of the grass that was there previously. I love it and don't mind the maintenance - hosing off dirt and debris in summer and moss control in spring. It is really good quality astro turf and looks so natural that people are surprised when I tell them what it is. The "blades of grass" are even in different colours that mimic real grass. It was costly, but worth every penny as my front garden always looks neat and tidy now, plus I don't have to break my back using a lawnmower on a slope. There is a reason why astro turf exists!😀
Btw, my new neighbour, who is an RHS member, says the peonies and poppies in my front garden are the largest she has ever seen. Like you, I don't see any dissonance in having both astro turf and being concerned about insects, plants and the environment.

Pumperthepumper · 26/04/2022 18:25

The hypocrisy argument doesn’t make sense - I’m assuming people who have astroturf don’t recycle? As going by that logic, you’re a hypocrite if you do.

Adeleskirts · 26/04/2022 18:27

I’m not really sure of the relevance of being an rhsmember, it’s not a credential like being a member of rhe law society etc.it’s about four quid a month so you get cheap access to their gardens and a magazine, anyone can join. It’s written like it in sone way gives weight to her opinion 😃

Loobyloo68 · 26/04/2022 18:29

Line hanging baskets with it.

Pumperthepumper · 26/04/2022 18:30

It’s also completely irrelevant how big the flowers are - you’re still causing generations of damage to the land you live on. It’s absolutely mad anyone would think a tidy lawn is worth it. Miracle grow is also shit for the environment.

Swipe left for the next trending thread