One homeowner won the approval of a subreddit dedicated to gardening after removing all of the artificial turf in their backyard.
"Bye fake grass," the poster wrote, sharing with the other members of the r/UKGardening subreddit. "The artificial turf is gone. Only 4 more tons of soil to go and hours of raking... Lots of work left to do in this garden. It was previously rented so made very 'low maintenance'. Can't wait to slowly bring some nature back in!"
Fake grass, also known as artificial turf or AstroTurf, is marketed as a "low maintenance" alternative to actual grass — but the reality is that artificial turf actually does require quite a bit of maintenance and comes with a bevy of other drawbacks.
Because artificial turf is made out of plastic, it does not break down organic material like fallen leaves. As a result, it needs to be regularly swept or vacuumed. The plastic also traps heat, meaning that in some cases, artificial grass requires even more watering to be kept cool than real grass.
In addition to trapping heat, the turf traps smells — particularly, the smell of animal urine, which is incredibly difficult to get out.
And, of course, artificial turf discourages local pollinators, biodiversity, and all wildlife. All in all, there are plenty of reasons to get rid of the stuff and no good reasons to install it in the first place.
The other members of the subreddit were happy to see the artificial turf gone.
"I'd love this stuff to be banned," wrote one commenter. "My mums neighbour put some in as she had a small strip of land which was too small to mow (or some excuse). I was like why not just seed it with some wild meadow seeds and leave it to it? Silence."
"Join the club! I ripped mine out yesterday, so we can compare our new lawns in a month or so haha," wrote another.
"I know a chap who has astro turf and actually vacuums it weekly, looking like a right plonker, and this is in fact the second reason not to have it, ever!" a third commenter chimed in.
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
