Join us to urge Senator Sarlo, Chair of the Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee, to include the Green Acres artificial turf bill, S3254 (Mukherji/Greenstein) on the agenda for the next Committee meeting!
This bill prohibits the use of Green Acres funds for the purchase, installation, or replacement of artificial turf fields.
This legislation is essential for protecting New Jersey’s environment and public health, as well as for ensuring that Green Acres funds are dedicated to conservation and safe recreation. Currently, state tax dollars intended for conservation and safe recreation are being used to subsidize toxic plastic artificial turf playing fields. In recent years, the Green Acres Program has spent significant public funding on artificial fields, including $10 million in 2023 alone and another $4 million for 2025.
We must prevent state funds from being allocated to artificial turf installations for several reasons.
- Artificial turf poses a serious threat to our communities by compromising the environment and endangering public health.
- These fields destroy natural ecosystems by replacing grass with toxic plastic materials.
- They also pollute our waterways by shedding millions of microplastic fragments and leaching hazardous substances such as PFAS chemicals and heavy metals into local groundwater.
- For athletes and children, these surfaces create unsafe playing conditions. The plastic fields can reach temperatures between 120°F and 180°F, significantly increasing the risk of heat exhaustion and skin burns.
Public funds should not be used to subsidize plastic pollution in our communities!
This bill has been unanimously released from the Senate Environment Committee with overwhelming support, including the New Jersey Farm Bureau, Pinelands Alliance, ANJEC, Beyond Plastics, and more.
Join us to request that Senator Sarlo advance this important measure and schedule a committee vote on it as soon as possible.
