UK turf grower, Stephen Fell, is calling for the end of the use of plastic netting in turf to prevent causing more “unseen environmental damage”.
Fell, who owns Yorkshire-based business Lindum Turf, believes plastic netting is a completely avoidable source of pollution, adding that few British consumers know that most turf sold in the UK contains plastic.
The call has been supported by the Turf Growers Association (TGA), which is encouraging its members to go plastic free by 2025.
Fell said he was making the call after Lindum Turf reported a threefold increase in sales of its plastic-free wildflower turf product over the past two years.
“The trouble is, over time the plastic netting breaks down into microplastics and pollutes the soil and leach off into watercourses,” Fell said.
“But because the net is hidden within the turf and people can’t see it, they don’t know it is there.
“So, despite people having the best intentions of doing the right thing for the environment, they often don’t realise the damage choosing the wrong product can cause.”
Fell said that it is time for the rest of the turf industry to “catch up” after Lisdum Turf has “worked hard for many years to eliminate plastic from our turf”.
Plastic problems
According to the TGA, the majority of UK turf growers use some kind of plastic turf netting in some or all of their products which means thousands of tons of single use plastics are being buried in the ground every year.
The association explained that this causes issues with microplastics getting into the environment, as well as farmers who let their land out to turf growers being left with bits of plastic in their fields which can cause problems in the growing of root crops like carrots and potatoes.
The TGA warned that birds, hedgehogs and other wildlife often suffocate or starve to death after getting trapped in plastic debris.
Chair of the TGA, Richard Owen, said: “It is very difficult to quantify exactly how much turf is laid in the UK, but it is likely that a significant amount of plastic turf netting is being put into the ground each year.
“This causes problems for wildlife, for farmers on whose land the turf is grown, and most seriously, it decays into polluting microplastics that can leach into watercourses and get into the food chain.
“It is for this reason we are encouraging our members to stop using single use plastic mesh in their turf by 2025 and support calls for an industry-wide cessation.”
Wildflower turf
Wildflower turf aims to provide a more natural alternative to turf grass. It consists of wildflowers and grasses that are ideally native to a grower’s region.
“Wildflower turf is becoming incredibly fashionable,” Fell explained.
“It is the only quick, easy, and reliable way to create a wildflower meadow which not only provides a beautiful spectacle to look at, it increases biodiversity and attracts vital pollinators.
“So, to create a product with that intention, only to line it with damaging single-use plastic seems perverse to me, especially when it is possible to create sturdy, plastic-free wildflower turf.
“The industry needs to address this issue and pledge to remove plastic from turf by 2030 at the latest.”
