On 100-degree days in Arizona, stay off the lawn. This Redditor shared the temperature of their artificial grass lawn, or turf, which was a whopping 178 degrees Fahrenheit.
Artificial lawns are made of polymer plastics, which are a better conduit for heat than plants, which are made up of mostly water. Plants also cool themselves through the natural process of transpiration, in which water evaporates from the plant's leaves.
Turf is made of plastic that gets extremely hot when it comes into contact with the sun. Because trees do not grow out of turf, this is all daylight hours. In Arizona, where there are more than 300 sunny days per year and sometimes over 100 days of 100 degrees or more, this creates a problem.
Turf is incredibly damaging to the ecosystem due to the harmful chemicals and microplastics it contains.
"As it's exposed to UV light, and abrasion, and slightly acidic rain, even more [perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances] will [leach] off," said Kyla Bennett of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. "And it will get into the soil, the groundwater, the vegetation, surface waters, drinking water."
Besides being dangerous for the environment, turf is dangerous for humans who stand or play on it. Not only is it hot enough to burn skin and even melt shoes, but studies have shown that PFAS in turf are responsible for a trend in cancers in professional athletes.
In 2024, PennEnvironment reported, "PFAS have been linked to several types of cancer, to immune system deficiencies, to high cholesterol and thyroid problems, low fertility, and even developmental issues in children and infants." These are threatening chemicals to include on your property. Plus, the cost to install turf is exorbitant.
"Could put some native plants there that don't require extra water and support the ecosystem instead of having hot plastic," one commenter pointed out. A native lawn also uses little to no water, which is the only major benefit of turf lawns. In hot places such as Arizona, homeowners actually water the artificial turf to cool it down — a process that plants do naturally through transpiration.
Natural lawns also attract birds, bees, and butterflies — critical pollinators that cannot survive in an environment packed with microplastics. Even in the driest, most arid desert conditions, native plants can offer beautiful landscaping that helps lower temperatures.
One Redditor made a helpful suggestion: "Is that [because] plastic turf … retains heat? I wonder what the concrete temp is! Yikes. Can [you] put succulents or heat/drought resistant plants instead?"
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No way 👎 "A tree could help lower down temperatures," another user said.
"Fake grass release[s] cancirogenic compounds when heated. There are studies of increased incidence of cancer among athetles training regularly on fake grass. Plus microplastics," read one comment.
Check out this helpful guide for upgrading to a natural lawn.
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