Tell Your Municipalities to Support Natural Grass over Artificial Turf!

Help us promote safe, natural grass for playing fields in New Jersey!

There has been a surge of artificial turf development across the state that has caused incredible environmental damage.

A single artificial turf field contains about 40,000 pounds of plastic that sheds microplastics into air, water, and soil. A regular sized artificial turf field contains 150,000 pounds of crumb rubber infill, often tire crumb, meets the EU definition of microplastics, and 1–4% migrates off-site each year. Turf blades also degrade and escape into the environment.

Artificial fields last only 8–10 years, after which thousands of pounds of infill and plastic carpet must be discarded. With roughly 30,000 fields in the U.S., this adds up to 12 billion pounds of infill and 1.2 billion pounds of plastic carpet—waste that cannot be conventionally recycled and often ends up in landfills or is improperly dumped.

Synthetic turf contains and leaches harmful chemicals, including PFAS, which are linked to serious health risks and have been found in water near turf fields. Tire-crumb infill contains PAHs, lead, and 6-PPD, a chemical with ecotoxic effects, including impacts on salmon. While safer mineral or plant-based infills exist, many installations still rely on tire-derived materials.

Artificial turf also creates extreme heat. On a warm day, artificial turf radiates more heat than grass, leading to extreme temperatures and contributing to heat island effect. Artificial turf can be 20–70° F hotter than natural grass. This increases the risk of heat-related illness—football players are 11 times more likely to suffer heat illness on synthetic fields. Climate change will worsen these risks. Converting natural areas to turf also destroys habitat, increases impervious cover, and worsens flooding.

Although natural grass requires maintenance, artificial fields cost $450,000 to $1.5 million each and must be replaced regularly, making natural grass cheaper long term and far better for the environment.

Many residents across the state are fighting artificial turf projects in their towns. An example is Cape May passed an ordinance to ban artificial turf in the city.

New Jersey must invest in safe, non-toxic, natural play surfaces on sports fields and playgrounds. This is why municipalities should invest in safe, natural grass, not for artificial turf.

We urge you to call on your municipality to support natural grass!

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Please Support Natural Grass over Artificial Turf

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We ask you to please invest in safe natural grass playing fields instead of artificial turf. When open space and natural grass playing fields are converted into artificial turf, there are significant land use impacts. These include loss of wildlife and natural habitat, increased impervious cover, and increased flooding. Synthetic turf components contain and leach harmful chemicals. Synthetic turf blades and infill materials are made of complex mixtures of chemicals, including many known to be harmful to human health and the environment. PFAS chemicals are linked to various health problems and concerning concentrations have been measured in surface water samples collected near synthetic turf fields. When open space and natural grass playing fields are converted to artificial turf, there are significant land-use impacts. These include loss of wildlife and natural habitat, increased impervious cover, and increased flooding. Synthetic turf components contain and leach harmful chemicals. Synthetic turf blades and infill materials are made of complex mixtures of chemicals, including many known to be harmful to human health and the environment. PFAS chemicals are linked to various health problems and concerning concentrations have been measured in surface water samples collected near synthetic turf fields. A single artificial turf field contains about 40,000 pounds of plastic that sheds microplastics into air, water, and soil. A regular sized artificial turf field contains 150,000 pounds of crumb rubber infill, often tire crumb, meets the EU definition of microplastics, and 1–4% migrates off-site each year. Turf blades also degrade and escape into the environment. Artificial turf also creates extreme heat. On a warm day, artificial turf radiates more heat than grass, leading to extreme temperatures and contributing to the heat island effect. Artificial turf can be 20–70° F hotter than natural grass. This increases the risk of heat-related illness—football players are 11 times more likely to suffer heat illness on synthetic fields. Climate change will worsen these risks. Converting natural areas to turf also destroys habitat, increases impervious cover, and worsens flooding. Artificial fields last only 8–10 years, after which thousands of pounds of infill and plastic carpet must be discarded. With roughly 30,000 fields in the U.S., this adds up to 12 trillion pounds of infill and 1.2 billion pounds of plastic carpet—waste that cannot be conventionally recycled and often ends up in landfills or is improperly dumped. Although natural grass requires maintenance, artificial fields cost $450,000 to $1.5 million each and must be replaced regularly, making natural grass cheaper long term and far better for the environment. New Jersey needs to invest in safe playing fields with natural grass, not a toxic, plastic carpet. We ask you to protect our health and the environment by supporting safe, non-toxic, natural grass surfaces for sports fields.

By taking this action to protect the planet, you are affirming you want to receive regular Sierra Club communications and may vote on policy designated by the Sierra Club Board.