Artificial grass was initially launched in the 1960s to be used for high quality fabricated surfaces for professional sports teams. Over time, new technologies have developed and corporations have created more affordable product that even home owners can reasonably afford as an artificial lawn option. As artificial grass has grown to become popular, it has also been pointed out by a few environmentalists saying that using this kind of synthetic surface on your own yard contributes a negative influence on the atmosphere. We now have regarded in more detail at the matter and identified many factors why using artificial grass in your own yard can certainly benefit the surroundings.
An argument often used by environmentalists is the fact that artificial grass cannot convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, which of course benefits the planet. This may be correct, yet, just what does it require to maintain a natural grass lawn? Certainly you will need a lawn mower that is typically either electric or petrol driven, as only a few people have lawn mowers which are not power driven these days. Based on some research conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency in Sweden, an hour use with a petrol-driven lawnmower is the same as a 100 mile car trip. For that reason, employing artificial grass can actually reduce the occurrence of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere.
Similarly, to sustain natural grass, chemicals like pesticides, fertilizers and weed killers must be regularly utilized. Chemicals such as these are actually believed to bring about just as much as 8% towards climatic change. Likewise, direct exposure to the said poisonous chemicals is definitely dangerous to humans since they have been shown to raise the risk of cancer along with other fatal illnesses. Certainly, artificial grass does not demand all of these chemicals so it\’s completely harmless even to young children.
To keep your natural grass garden as green and as healthy as possible you need to water it regularly, particularly in hot climates or during summer months. It has been equated that a natural lawn requires approximately 55 gallons of water per year for every square foot of grass, to keep it lush and healthy. On the other hand, this will never be the case if artificial grass is utilized. So can you imagine how much precious water you can conserve over a year with an artificial lawn? And by doing so, it will also save you money with your water bill.
Meanwhile, it was also raised that artificial grass tends to produce runoffs after heavy rain preventing replenishment of groundwater. Accordingly, these runoffs bypass sewage treatment systems and discharge contaminated water into nearby surface waters. This is actually wrong! Most artificial grass nowadays is permeable and can actually allow absorption of rainwater into the established drainage systems.
We totally agree with the concern of the environmentalist that our mother earth is actually being affected because of human generated activities. However, there are numerous reasons, some of which we have covered above, why artificial grass may in fact benefit the environment and it seems unlikely that these synthetic surfaces contribute any significant negative effect. There is certainly a place for natural grass lawns, and long may they continue. But a growing number of people are now opting for artificial grass lawns as an aesthetically pleasing and lower maintenance option to surface their garden.
Verde Sports have been a leading supplier of artificial lawn surfaces since 1988.