Synthetic Turf Versus Grass: Study Weighs Benefits, Drawbacks

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To the occasional protest of local community groups, the city’s parks department has been installing synthetic turf in city parks since 1998. While possibly being less expensive, synthetic turf is also less environmentally friendly than natural grass, according to a new study by a nonprofit parks advocacy group.

Despite those findings, the study, released yesterday by New Yorkers for Parks, notes that the demand for open space in the city is greater than the supply, and that artificial turf is beneficial because it requires less maintenance and is more winter-friendly, allowing it to be used all year long.

The study suggests that the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation not install synthetic turf on baseball fields, where the grass takes less of a beating, but do so in place of asphalt and on more heavily used areas, such as soccer fields.

The executive director of New Yorkers for Parks, Christian DiPalermo, said the parks department should “proceed with caution.” He said that because of the environmental effects and possible safety hazards of artificial turf, more studies should be conducted. “We don’t want to accelerate this,” he said.

The study reports that artificial turf is ecologically advantageous because it requires no pesticides or fertilizers and because each field comprises thousands of recycled tires. On the other hand, it is less environmentally friendly because it eliminates natural habitats for animals and because synthetic turf is often far hotter than the atmosphere temperature. Mr. DiPalermo said this urban heat-island effect far outweighs any environmental benefit of synthetic turf.

In a response that accompanied the report, the commissioner of the parks department, Adrian Benepe, said “grass ball fields have little habitat value and are likely to harbor nuisances like Canada geese, gulls, Japanese beetles and invasive weeds.” He also said the department is looking for ways to make the turf cooler.

Regarding safety, the study was more vague. It said that the health effects of “the potential toxicity of recycled tires and silicon” are inconclusive and that more studies should be conducted.

The study also notes that synthetic turf reduces the number of allergy and asthma triggers.

A spokesman for the parks department, Ashe Reardon, said the department does proceed with caution when installing synthetic turf and that the department has usually limited artificial turf to “old asphalt fields, multipurpose fields, and heavily used fields for soccer and football.”

Currently, synthetic turf covers 300 acres of city parkland in a total of 59 parks.


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