Stop Artificial Turf

October 22, 2025

Discarded artificial turf piling up as toxic landfill.
Photo Credit: Cameron Clark, York Daily Record 2019

A Rootsy Resistance to Artificial Turf*…because you deserve better.

*a.k.a. Synthetic Turf, AstroTurf, Fake Grass, Artificial Lawn, Synthetic Lawn, Artificial Grass, Grass Carpet, Sports Turf, Fake Turf, ChemGrass, Toxic Turf, etc.

OVERVIEW

Artificial turf should be banned due to the health risks it poses to humans, wildlife and our environment. While we encourage the replacement and reduction of water-loving lawns in residential homes, it is reasonable to responsibly dedicate water to organically-managed natural turf areas in our communal spaces. Our communities deserve (and should demand!) safe and healthy environments in our parks, schools, playgrounds, sports fields, etc.

THE TIME TO BAN IT IS NOW

California SB 676 was passed in 2023, which empowers local governments to ban or regulate the use of artificial turf. This is an opportunity for cities and counties to prioritize the health, safety and quality of life for their communities by completely banning artificial turf.

Congratulations to the City of Millbrae, CA
for banning artificial turf to protect their community!
(Ordinance passed Oct. 24, 2023, effective as of Jan. 1, 2024)
“City of Millbrae Synthetic Grass & Artificial Turf Ordinance”
Municipal Code Title 8, Ch 8.65

CAUSES FOR CONCERN

Toxins
Artificial turf materials contain a variety of toxins, including microplastics and “forever chemicals” that pose serious health risks to humans. Humans are exposed to them via inhalation, ingestion and dermal (skin) absorption when interacting with artificial turf. Below is a list of the major toxins of concern that are present in artificial turf.

PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances): These are linked to various cancers and diseases in children and adults. PFAS are known as “Forever Chemicals” because they don’t metabolize or decompose in nature – and persist in the body and environment. Detectable levels are already being found in rain, food, drinking water, waterways, etc. (Figure 1)

VOCs (volatile organic compounds): These compounds “off-gas” and can be inhaled. They are related to poor air quality and health concerns.

6PPD-quinone: 6PPD is a compound added to tires to combat brittleness with use and exposure to UV light. However, the barrier layer of 6PPD on the surface of tires actually oxidizes from the UV exposure and turns into compound 6PPD-quinone, which is even more toxic to aquatic environments & organisms.

Phthalates: These are endocrine disrupters that can affect hormones linked to reproductive and developmental issues.

Heavy Metals: Studies have found zinc, cadmium & lead leaching from artificial turf. There is no safe exposure level of lead for children.

Flame Retardants: These are linked to endocrine disruption and can have negative effects on the nervous system.

Image Credit: European Environment Agency, 12/12/2019

Extreme Heat
Artificial Turf is an impermeable surface made of plastics that absorb and retain heat. On hot days, it can get 40-70 degrees higher than the surrounding air temperature, and up to 160-200°F on the surface at peak heat. This creates a high risk of heat stress and thermal burns to users, and especially children who do not regulate heat as well as adults. Ironically, artificial turf is often watered to cool it down but the cooling effects only last a matter of minutes before temperatures rise again. The National Recreation & Park Association encourages extreme caution using artificial turf when outdoor temperatures reach 80°F, and to avoid using artificial turf on days that reach 90°F.

Our urban cities are already suffering from “Heat Island Effect” – a phenomenon of the warming of cities constructed of buildings, concrete, asphalt, and (yes!) artificial turf. Hardscaping our communities and reducing the presence of trees and vegetation interrupts the natural process of cooling through shade, plant transpiration, evaporation, & carbon sequestration in healthy soil. These impermeable surfaces and the increase of temperature are resulting in heat-related health problems in communities, air pollution, higher demand for energy & A/C use (which contributes to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions), increased stormwater runoff, pollution and temperature increase to our waterways which is devastating aquatic life and is contaminating our drinking water.

Harmful Bacteria Buildup
Artificial turf requires ongoing maintenance and deep cleaning with chemical solutions to remove odors, blood, urine, and bacteria. Unlike natural turf fields, which grow in healthy soil with microbiology that manages waste and bacteria naturally, artificial turf requires intervention to limit bacteria buildup. Studies show CA-MRSA (community-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) can survive on artificial turf up to 1-week, and is even more of a concern on indoor installations because there are no UV-Rays or high temperatures to kill it off. Turf burns, scrapes and cuts are potential entry points for bacteria so proper cleaning of artificial turf is essential.

Injury
Athletes at the professional and high school level are more likely to get injured on artificial turf than on properly maintained natural grass fields – as much as 58% more likely. Artificial turf is less forgiving and force-absorbing than natural grass, which has increased rates of non-contact injuries to knees, feet & ankles. Many professional athletes, including the NFL Players Association, are advocating that all artificial turf fields be replaced with natural grass fields.

Landfill
Artificial turf typically breaks down after 8-10 years of use, which means it needs to be replaced. As a mixed plastic product, it’s not easily recycled so it ends up forever sitting in our landfills, leaching toxins into our groundwater and polluting our environment. According to a 2024 industry report, North America produces about 300,000 tons of artificial turf waste annually.

Loss of Beneficial Habitat & Biodiversity
Artificial turf does not provide any habitat for beneficial insects above or below ground. It is a wasteland for life in the soil, plants, insects, birds and animals. Human activities on our planet have already resulted in an alarming loss of biodiversity, with species now dying out hundreds of times faster than the natural rate. Our health and wellbeing is interconnected with that of all other living things in our ecosystem, so a loss of biodiversity puts us all at risk of food insecurity, disease & pest outbreaks, a decline in soil/water/air quality, and more.
Healthy and resilient ecosystems require a wide variety of plants, animals, insects, and microorganisms. There is no reason to install harmful artificial turf when there are so many alternatives that will support biodiversity & healthy systems, including natural grass (for parks, schools and sports fields), edible gardens for food production, or lush areas of native plants to support local pollinators.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Encourage your community to manage natural turf areas organically. Check out how they did it in Irvine, CA.
Contact & appeal to your elected officials. Find them here.
Contact & appeal to your local officials. Find them here.
Take precautions when interacting with Artificial Turf. The Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center recommends the following tips:

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL TURF?

In the early 1960s, Monsanto and its subsidiary, the Chemstrand Company, were funded by the Ford Foundation to invent an urban playing surface that would be easier to play on than concrete. Two years later, they presented “ChemGrass” which was tested in some schools but was too expensive to install widely in urban areas. In 1966, it was rebranded as “AstroTurf” – after a successful installation of the synthetic sports field in Houston, Texas’ world famous indoor stadium, the Astrodome. The flagship brand of AstroTurf is currently owned by Sport Group – but there are now numerous companies that produce & sell lines of synthetic turf. As synthetic turf became more affordable and evolved to look & feel more like natural grass, it began rising in popularity among residential homeowners and schools in the 1990s.

Typical installation layers of artificial turf, installed over compacted soil.
Photo Source: RCArtificialGrass.com

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

“Artificial Turf & Children’s Health”,
March 26, 2024, Sarah Evans, PHD MPH

“Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS”,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Nov. 26, 2024.

“Position Statement on the Use of Artificial Turf Surfaces”,
The Children’s Environmental Health Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, May 29, 2025.

VIDEO: “Artificial Turf & Safer Alternatives”,
Collaborative for Health & Environment, Jan. 27, 2022

VIDEO: “Artificial Turf: Research on Plastic Pollution, PFAS, & Health Concerns”,
Alaska Community Action on Toxins, Presented Sept. 18, 2024.
*See the original research here: “The dark side of artificial greening: Plastic turfs as widespread pollutants of aquatic environments”, 2023

“Presence of metals and metalloids in crumb rubber used as infill of worldwide synthetic turf pitches: Exposure and Risk Assessment,”
Science Direct, July 2022

“Analysis of energy use and emissions of greenhouse gases, metals and organic substances from construction of materials used for artificial turf,”
Science Direct, April 2017.

“Characterizing PFAS Chemistries, Sources, Uses and Regulatory Trends in U.S. and International Markets,”
Final White Paper by RTI International, for Consumer Product Safety Commission. June 20, 2023

CA-MRSA “survival on artificial turf substrates,”
American College of Sports Medicine, 2011

“Emerging chemical risks in Europe – ‘PFAS’,
European Environment Agency, Dec. 16, 2019

Artificial Turf: A Health Based Consumer Guide
The Children’s Environmental Health Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, May 2017

“Injury incidence is higher on artificial turf compared with natural grass in high school athletes: A retrospective cohort study,”
Current Orthopaedic Practice, July 2021

“Soils Clean & Capture Water”
Soil Science Society of America, April 2015

“Biodiversity”
World Health Organization, Feb. 18, 2025

“Biodiversity”
National Geographic, May 7, 2025