A Coming Environmental Option in Artificial Lawns

Homeowners can contribute much in conserving water and help in preserving a clean environment while saving money at the same time. This is possible by converting the home’s lawn to synthetic grass. The three-month water bill of a couple from Walnut Creek, California, has been reduced to $150 from $600 when they used synthetic material in their 2,000 square-foot lawn, replacing the natural grass landscaping. No lawn mower is needed, helping curb unwanted pollution. This would also allow free time for either chores or leisure such as watching baseball where synthetic material was first used as playing field. So now that you’ve heard that don’t you want to hear more about synthetic grass lawn.

The forerunner of synthetic grass is the AstroTurf used in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, when the arena was built in 1965. The use of AstroTurf and other similar materials became widespread in both outdoor and indoor sports venues in the US and Canada in the 1970s. The low maintenance cost of synthetic grass convinced managers of indoor sports arenas that it is suitable as surface material. Conversion to artificial grass of playing surfaces for many venues for field hockey and tennis soon followed, an innovation that also found application in snowless snowboarding and skiing. If you want to learn more just search for “savings with artificial synthetic turf”.

It was only in the early 1990s when usage of synthetic material for residential and commercial landscaping became popular. At that time, there was drought in Las Vegas and a golf course was being converted to synthetic turf. This caught the attention of one enterprising businessman, Lyle Johnston, who was convinced that the material would be appropriate for landscaping. Johnston formed a company, Envy Turf, for this purpose. Company operations began in 1992, establishing a trend for synthetic grass as landscaping material. The growth of this trend was encouraged by two factors. Firstly, the variety and quality of available synthetic grass materials have vastly improved. Also, authorities, as well as homeowners have come to realize the utility of artificial grass as a water conservation measure, and the less care and maintenance the material requires. There are lots of people who wonder a lot of stuff about it, like I have friends ask about synthetic grass v natural grass all the time.

Still, there are some drawbacks to having a lawn made of synthetic materials. First, converting to the synthetic material from the natural grass entails cost. Among these is the cost of labor to remove the old lawn. Sinkholes on the surface have to be prevented, so a base of rock and rubber has to be laid out. It is only after these steps that the synthetic grass could be installed.

Likewise, the infill needed in some synthetic grass is made of silicon sand and/or granulated rubber recycled from discarded car tires. Heavy metals could be contained in this infill which could contaminate the water table if these are leached underground. Installing artificial grass for a lawn could also warm up home surroundings, possibly affecting ornamental plants in a garden. This is because exposure to sunlight makes synthetic grass much hotter than natural grass.