April 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 49

The acceptance of turf recycling will be
driven by a number of factors: cost, local
availability, consumer awareness of the
technology and demand for the products
made from the recycled materials.
and a drainage system. The ability of
the field to be " recycled " depends
upon the amount of original material
that can be reused.
Some industry companies specialize
in the reuse of field components
and will separate the infill
from the carpet with the intention
of reusing the infill in the new field.
It is possible that other components
of the field can be downcycled.
While the cost of removing an old
field surface and placing it in a landfill
is admittedly lower than many
of the new processes on the market,
field owners often are answerable to
city and state agencies that want to
know what happens to the surface after
it reaches the end of its useful life.
The full recycling of turf (known
as a circular system) is still in its
infancy, but it does exist. The technology
for the recycling of all turf
components, previously found only
in Europe, has arrived stateside.
The process is complicated because
three primary polymers exist within
a typical turf product: polyethylene,
polypropylene and polyurethane.
According to the website of ReMatch
Turf Recycling, the U.S.
company that is doing this recycling
work, a quick breakdown of the
process is as follows: The recycling
company will gather field surfaces
that have met the end of their useful
life and move them to a factory
for shredding. The shredded materials
then move to another state
for further reprocessing, then are
transferred to an advanced recycling
facility where they are broken down
into raw materials that can be used
to make new products with quality
and performance identical to those
of virgin raw materials.
The acceptance of turf recycling
will be driven by a number of factors:
cost, local availability (trucking fees
can be expensive if material needs to
be transported long distances), consumer
awareness of the technology
and demand for the products made
from the recycled materials.
" Repurposing is a great idea, "
says
John
Schedler of Baraka
Sport, " but sometimes, it's not as
easy to accomplish as we'd like. "
Are all fields still made with
crumb rubber infill?
While crumb rubber is still a popular
choice, other options exist.
These include:
* Coated SBR crumb rubber
* Coconut fiber
* Cork combination infill
* Olive pits
* Organic (cork-based)
* Organic (fiber-based)
* Quartz core infill
* TPE (thermoplastic elastomer)
* Recycled turf/TPE
* Shoe rubber
* Volcanic ash (Clinoptilolite zeolite)
* Walnut shells
* Wood
Ask a qualified sports field builder
about the options available; remember
that the right choice for
any field will depend upon factors
including price, availability, shipping
costs, weather/geography,
planned usage and more.
" Being aware of the latest developments
in turf systems, advanced
infill
materials
and sustainable
practices can help officials make
informed decisions when considering
synthetic turf in their facilities, "
notes Allen.
Schedler adds that the best information
comes from experienced
field contractors. " Park and rec officials
should always have someone
on their team who can help guide
them through the process. Having an
independent professional or expert
help to advise is always recommended.
Google experts and vendor sales
or marketing aren't advised and, in
many cases, can be misleading. "
SEE ALSO: Synthetic Turf: The
World's Fastest-Growing Play Surface,
Kevin Kinsley, Parks & Recreation,
May 2020, Vol. 55, Iss. 5, tinyurl.
com/3de52ynk.
Mary Helen Sprecher is Technical Writer at American Sports
Builders Association (maryhelen@sportsbuilders.org).
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | APRIL 2 0 2 4 | Parks & Recreation
49
PHOTO COURTESY OF GEOSURFACES INC.
http://tinyurl.com/3de52ynk
April 2024 – Parks & Recreation

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