Everyone thinks of grass in the wild as a positive contributor to the environment but what is the real impact?
Traditional grass does of course absorb some greenhouse gases, like any living plant, but far less than the trees that make up so much of our landscape – and even less when it is mown! What about the electricity – or even petrol – that goes into that weekly mowing… the chemicals that nearly all of us put on to kill pests and weeds… the fuel used by council garden waste collections (around 80% of which is grass) and of course the ever-more precious commodity of mains water we hose it with regularly. Just compare that with artificial. Once it’s manufactured and installed, you have an estimate 15 years of energy-free, chemical-free and altogether hassle-free lawn. Specialists at Newcastle University are currently carrying out a life cycle assessment to compare the carbon footprint of artificial grass with a conventional grass lawn. Once completed it will prove unequivocally that our grass is certainly greener!
