Plastic grass: Low-maintenance fuss-free greenery — or a menace to the environment?

CAROLINE DELANEY examines the backlash against synthetic lawns, and asks environmental experts for their observations

The idea of durable low-maintenance fake grass is attractive but environmentalists say it is not as fuss-free as we may believe — and it has several drawbacks that ought to be considered if anyone is thinking of installing it

It’s sold as low-maintenance, fuss-free and durable. And artificial grass is definitely gaining a foothold here. There are dozens of plastic grass specialists across the country offering ‘instant lawns’ to playschools, cafés, hotels, and homeowners. Then, there’s the DIY option with retailers such as Co-Op Superstores, Homestore & More, and Woodies — and even carpet outlets — offering grass tiles or rolls of artificial grass which can be laid in a manner similar to carpet.

But when we have an official biodiversity emergency as noted by the Dáil in 2019 and the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss in 2022, and when there is a commitment in the Programme for Government to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises, is there still a place for artificial grass?

Bloom controversy

Artificial grass has been banned from Chelsea Flower Show but, controversially, showed up in displays at Bloom here in Ireland last year. However, this year there will be no plastic grass at Ireland’s largest garden festival which this year takes place from June 1 to 5.

A Bord Bia spokesperson confirmed: “Bord Bia Bloom actively discourages the use of artificial grass in any on-site activation from sponsors on-site, and there are no artificial grass providers registered to exhibit at this year’s event.”

The garden designers at Bloom are also unlikely to use plastic grass this year, the spokesperson said: “Bord Bia Bloom actively encourages show garden designers to use natural materials where possible.”

Referring to last year’s festival when some visitors and environmental experts said they were disappointed to see plastic grass on display, the spokesperson said: “There are some instances, such as at last year’s event where an exhibitor requested that a very small section of an accessible garden feature artificial grass as natural grass would not have supported the weight of a mechanised wheelchair. However, we strongly recommend to all of our designers that they incorporate natural, sustainably produced plants and grass in their gardens.”

This follows moves in recent years to ban artificial turf from the Chelsea Flower Show which this year runs from May 23-27, and other events run by the Royal Horticultural Society. The RHS, Britain’s leading gardening charity, said no fake grass would be allowed because of its damaging effect on the environment.

What the experts say

Overwhelmingly, experts in biodiversity and environment are calling to ban the use of plastic grass, or put prohibitive tax on it.

Jesmond Harding

The installation of artificial lawns and shrubbery offers convenience but nothing else. The materials used contribute to pollution and the finished product offers nothing but damage to biodiversity.

Synthetic plants are made from petroleum and fossil fuels used in their manufacture generate pollution that damages soils, plants, insects, birds, and mammals.

Visually, the effect is ugly, and reflects a lack of care for the natural environment. It highlights the disconnect from nature and the idea that natural surroundings are inconvenient rather than a source of wonder and pleasure.

I have observed an increase in the use of artificial lawns and plastic shrubs in tubs, and my reaction is to ask why. What is the appeal?

Jesmond Harding is the author of The Irish Butterfly Book.

Artificial plants look tasteless and cheap. Even those that appear lifelike show an unvarying flat, empty gleam. Sanitising one’s surroundings might be a motivation. Bizarrely, the use of artificial lawns is promoted as a response to climate change, as these do not need watering during drought. The irony of promoting materials that produce climate-warming gases as a solution is exasperating and perverse, an offence to common sense.

There has been an incremental advance in the appearance of synthetic plants. We used to see artificial house plants, such as lilies for indoor vases, progressing to potted shrubs and now to outdoor shrubs and lawns.

On one journey through a local housing estate, I counted the number of hard surfaces replacing grassed gardens, which proved to be two-thirds of the outdoor spaces observed. This trend appears to be influencing new housing developments, with hard-surfaced front gardens or with no front-of-house space, just adjoining on-street parking slots.

There are studies that show links between the decline in butterfly species and atmospheric nitrogen deposition, some of this caused by burning fossil fuels to make artificial plants.

There is no pressure to produce food crops in gardens, so there is no need to apply nitrogen fertilisers which create nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that has 300 times the heating power of carbon dioxide. Gardens can be a haven for species fleeing the onslaught of chemically-mediated farming, but only if we grow native grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees in our gardens.

Butterfly Conservation Ireland has found that about half of our butterfly species visit butterfly-friendly gardens, and around one-third of our butterflies breed in gardens containing the right plants and conditions.

A plastic garden has no appeal for our wildlife.

The convenience argument for artificial grass can be answered by using low-maintenance alternatives such as pea gravel sown with drought-tolerant native plants such as kidney vetch, bloody cranesbill and common birdsfoot trefoil — all great for pollinators and providing a long flowering period giving colour and texture from May to October. There is no such thing as effortless management.

The Irish Butterfly Book: A Complete Guide to the Butterflies of Ireland by JM Harding.

While spot weeding is needed in a gravelled garden, it is also a requirement in artificial turf, where weeds will appear, despite the promise of maintenance-free convenience.

I would like to see the use of artificial plants banned or at the very least subject to high taxation to take account of the environmental damage involved in production and use of such material. The use of such materials accelerates biodiversity loss; any activity that creates environmental damage should be discouraged or banned.

Jesmond Harding is the author of The Irish Butterfly Book and runs the charity Butterfly Conservation Ireland.

'A deep sense of disappointment'

Feargal Ó Cuinneagáin
I have noticed an increased use in artificial grass/plastic grass especially in urban gardens. I feel a deep sense of disappointment.

A grass lawn can provide area for species like song thrush/blackbirds to forage for earthworms. Another benefit is if dandelions on lawns are let go to seed, this can provide food for seed-eating species like goldfinch/linnet. A grassy area — especially a native wildflower patch — will provide habitat for a whole range of wild flowers/wildgrasses, invertebrates, and birds.

Feargal Ó Cuinneagáin works as a vet and is also a part-time farmer managing 25 acres specifically for breeding cornrcakes.

In general, a wildflower meadow patch will provide the most habitat/food for a substantial amount of species, a continually mowed ryegrass lawn will provide considerably less, but a plastic lawn will provide zero space for any wildlife.

Indeed, some of my own relatives have installed artificial grass and there is certainly a lot more artificial grass/plastic plants in stores like Woodies. There is an increasing market push for artificial grass.

Sites like shaded areas do not require plastic plants. Native woodland plants like primrose, bluebells or wood sorrel thrive in shaded spots.

For ease of maintenance, a wildflower meadow in place of a mowed lawn/plastic grass is an excellent option. Grass is strimmed/mowed once or twice a year and you get wave upon wave of native wildflowers throughout the season.

A plastic lawn requires regular hoovering/cleaning so definitely is not maintenance-free! The plastic lawn has a finite lifespan and will have to be replaced. This is an extra cost and a lot of extra plastic waste.

Plastic lawns are definitely not safe for pets, they have to be regularly washed often with detergents. It is difficult to fully rinse these detergents away and pets can get contact dermatitis from close contact with these residual detergents on the plastic grass.

Due to environmental impact, I would like this industry banned or heavily regulated.

Feargal Ó Cuinneagáin is a vet, part-time farmer, and an avid wildlife gardener.

'Plastic lawns are incredibly antisocial'

Gary Robinson 

Give me one argument in favour of plastic grass and I’ll give you 10 arguments against.

There’s a sterility to plastic gardens that really annoys me. I think plastic lawns are incredibly antisocial — each one a grave to the biodiversity that used to reside there.

Sure, there’s the idea of less maintenance. No lawnmower, no cuttings, no oil or petrol and all the rest of it. But have you considered the smell? Lawns absorb pet waste naturally but plastic grasses stain and smell.

So you’ve lost the mower but now you have to vacuum, wash and disinfect your ‘lawn’. Brilliant. I get it — your lawn is a chore. It’s a pain having to cut it weekly. You don’t have the time or inclination.

You’ll still have to maintain a plastic lawn, regardless of whatever a salesperson will tell you.

What if I told you that you could have an enjoyable space, teeming with wildlife that is a sea of colour, scent and sounds and would require less annual work than a plastic lawn? How? Wildflower mixes. An increasingly popular alternative to the lawn. It’s so easy to install; take the site back to bare soil, add a wildflower mix [always ensure all mixes contain only native wildflowers], let it grow, and enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells.

The only annual maintenance is a cut in September and remove the cuttings. That’s it. Your sterile desert for biodiversity is now the envy of all that see it — for minimal work.

Gary Robinson is an aquatic biologist.

'Healthy, biodiverse green spaces are important for our health'

Ali Norman

Home gardens are a wonderful space for people to interact with nature.

Take the garden rewilding movement — from No Mow May to native wildflowers and pollinator-friendly planting — we have seen people embrace their connection to the natural world with miniature wildlife sanctuaries outside their door.

As well as providing a vital component or an ecosystem for wildlife, natural, mossy, messy grass helps us cope with excess water.

Then there is the rising trend of artificial gardens. From reduced water retention, increasing microplastics, and damage to biodiversity, the environmental impact of plastic grass should not be overlooked. Once we recognise the intrinsic connection between nature and ourselves, we must also acknowledge the impact this has on us.

Healthy, biodiverse green spaces are important for our health and well-being. Immersing in and connecting to nature is good for us. So why are people so eager to do the opposite?

Indeed, the plastic grass trend reflects a much larger conversation, that of the growing distance between people and nature. A necessary conversation.

The indifference people feel for the environment, from something as simple as an artificial garden, clearly connects to larger-scale environmental destruction. The obsession with neat and tidy desolates Ireland’s environment. We have seen this with hedgerows, parks, beaches, seafronts, and more.

Artificial grass is another step away from nature, at a time we should be doing the opposite. We need to encourage people’s connections to the environment. We need to understand why plastic grass is becoming such a trend and how to combat it.

We are as much part of the natural world as any other species. We rely on it. It relies on us. So why are we so eager to remove it from our lives, in any way possible?

Ali Norman  has a BSc in zoology and an MSc in environmental leadership, with a thesis focusing on perceptions of rewilding.

'Every space lost to nature is important'

Lynn O'Keeffe

I met someone only last year who was considering plastic grass for their small front garden, and I took the opportunity to convince them otherwise.

Why?

Because every space lost to nature is important. Biodiversity loss is such in Ireland and globally that every little bit counts. That front garden is in a suburban area that’s getting increasingly built up. Of particular concern in such areas is the increase in hard non-water-retentive surfaces. 

Galway-based horticulturist Lynn O’Keeffe.

Every area under a roof, a hard landscaped area, paved or tarmacked, or covered in plastic is an area that rainwater runs off of. This then means that the water has no soil to drain down into or be absorbed by plants and accumulates instead together to cause floods. This will be an increasingly important issue as the climate changes and rainfall events become more extreme.

It is vital that we hold onto the few natural green spaces left around houses and housing estates, and increase the amount of natural green spaces in cities and towns.

I get not wanting to mow grass, and I’ve designed gardens for people who don’t own a lawn mower. These gardens are now a mix of paving, gravel, shrubberies and raised planters, with plenty of flowers for pollinators, colour and seasonal interest. Seasonal interest is a hugely important feature in a garden — who doesn’t take heart from the first signs of spring, snowdrops and daffodils blossoming despite the weather, the lush bright green of spring leaves, or the change in autumn to golds and reds.

Plastic grass gives you a vista that doesn’t change from July to January, that no bird or butterfly will find comfort in or visit. Why would you want a garden that devoid of nature?

Horticulturalist Lynn O’Keeffe works as a craft gardener for the OPW at Portumna Castle in County Galway. maintaining the kitchen garden there, and is a horticulture tutor with Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board. 

'Microplastics will build up in the area'

Donna Mullen

My first thought if someone says they are thinking of getting plastic grass and artificial shrubs? Don’t do it.

Yes, it is increasingly popular as people are time-poor, and keeping a garden takes time. However, another approach is to allow your garden become a wildflower garden. This requires minimum maintenance, with just cutting in late autumn. A sign can be placed in your garden, downloaded from the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, explaining that you are protecting your biodiversity.

Donna Mullen is an environmentalist and a director of Wildlife Surveys Ireland.

There are other options to help your unruly gardens. In Cabra in Dublin, the Connecting Cabra group pairs older people who have large or difficult gardens with young people who would love to do some gardening, but live in apartments or have small gardens. This leads to lovely gardens and beautiful friendships across generations.

Plastic gardens lead to a loss of biodiversity — no food for insects, birds, bees, or mammals. In addition, there is no soakage with any impervious structure, which leads to a flooding risk.

There is also the fact that microplastics will build up in the area, running from the plastics themselves, with both known and unknown health implications.

Plants play an important role as air filters, preventing PM2.5 and lower particles from entering our bloodstream, and act as a physical barrier between ourselves and the cars outside, which are emitting these particles from their tyres and exhausts. These particles get into our bloodstreams causing lung diseases, cardiac problems, and cancer — they are the same particles as are emitted by smoky coal.

I worked in Cardiology for many years and have seen the effects of PM 2.5’s. Plants trap these before they get to our lungs. Plastic doesn’t.

Plants also reduce flooding, by adsorbing water and prevent heat stress from building up in cities. The biodiversity plan for Cabra is using plants to reduce heat stress where this problem has been identified in recent heatwaves. Heat stress is caused by too much heat being trapped in concrete (buildings and roads) during heatwaves, and has severe implications for the health of both very young and very old people. Plastic plants will just make this worse.

I feel that the polluter should pay — and if you are going to use plastic plants, you must pay for the health damage, flooding, loss of biodiversity and clean-up of microplastics. So this should be exceptionally expensive, and it would be cheaper and easier to pay someone to cut your grass every autumn!

Donna Mullen is an environmentalist and a director of Wildlife Surveys Ireland.

'The proliferation of artificial grass is a major step in the wrong direction'

Rob Curley

When considering plastic grass or artificial shrubs, the first thing that comes to mind is the inherent contradiction of using unsustainable petroleum-based products to emulate nature during a climate crisis. 

This is really quite astounding, considering those very same products are leading to direct environmental destruction at the macro level through their production, at the micro level through their replacement of soil-based landscapes, and at the nano level through the introduction of micro-plastics into the eco-system.

Rob Curley, a director of Maremoto Architects, in an internal courtyard designed as a slice of a wild Irish landscape, with a low-maintenance planting scheme featuring ferns, grasses, boulders and helxine.

The majority of artificial grass products are made from polyethylene, from which most secondary microplastics are made. These are the most dominant type of plastic found in marine environments. 

The first stage at which microplastics might enter the water cycle could be from something as simple as run-off from artificial grass following rain or ‘washing’ with a hose in a domestic garden, as the artificial grass degrades over time exposed to the elements.

I think the impact of these products is especially egregious in domestic gardens in nature-deprived urban areas, particularly where they’re replacing soil-based landscapes.

There’s simply no excuse for the level of environmental destruction involved in erasing the possibility of natural landscapes that can contribute to wildlife, in favour of artificial environments which are destructive environmental dead zones.

As it stands we should be encouraging monocultural lawns to be converted to diverse, low-maintenance landscapes with native plants and flowering species, and there’s been clear growth in this trend which should be celebrated.

The proliferation of artificial grass and the growth of this industry is nonetheless a major step in the wrong direction, not dissimilar to how disposable vapes have replaced cigarettes, right as smoking rates have plummeted.

I do think artificial grass has a very limited and specific practical use for things such as astroturf pitches for sports, play areas or similar uses where a natural landscape is completely impractical, but its use can and should rightly be regulated and restricted, and we need to be looking at truly sustainable materials for these artificial landscapes.

Local authorities or the relevant minister could declare the installation of unsustainable artificial grass as non-exempted development requiring planning permission — with the explicit goal of regulating and reversing the growth of this industry, as part of a campaign of climate action.

This would discourage its installation generally in the first instance, and allow for its use to be documented and regulated.

Regulation could also be explored to limit the use of unsustainable plastic materials in these products, as was done in Ireland with the pioneering plastic bag levy.

As a society, we need to be serious about the effects of petroleum-based products on our environment.

We can not do so while we continue to rip up our landscapes to replace them with plastic facsimiles.

Rob Curley is a director of Maremoto Architects 

'It basically takes away habitat'

Phoebe O'Brien

If someone says they are thinking of getting plastic grass and artificial shrubs or if I spot an area with it freshly installed, I try not to jump to conclusions.

I find ecology trains me to observe first. I would, however, have a lot of questions about the size and area.

Will it be just big enough to lie down on? How long would they want to keep the plastic grass and what would they do with it afterward? Do they see it as an outdoor carpet? Or a permanent mulch?

When it is used, it basically takes away habitat.

Phoebe O'Brien, Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland plant recorder for Co Clare: 'Even the smallest cold yard is a niche that living species can make their home.' 

Look at an aerial shot of your area and ask ‘where is the biodiversity in my road or town?’ Every crack in the pavement, every stone wall, or pan of water can help nature. In a rural area there are often fewer reasons to use it but also less pressure to find areas of habitat.

I have seen a local school playing field with astroturf. It looks very odd. In the past, sports would have been varied through the year, played in different areas and not so much in bad weather. It is a bit like grazing real grass. If I saw the sward becoming poached or over-grazed I would suggest a management change: Fewer cows or move them to another field.

Now, some of the sports which are lighter on grass have become elitist and not available to some socioeconomic groups. I think the need for plastic grass tells us a lot about our culture and how separated we have become from nature and the seasons.

I see many more plastic plants available in lifestyle shops. For some people, seeing bright flowers and green grass is important for mental health even if it is made of plastic. But I also see a growing trend in house plants.

My work aims to show people how they can have suitable wild plants and grasses even in small dark areas. Even the smallest cold yard is a niche that living species can make their home. In cities sometimes a garden can be an oasis among the concrete. Using moss instead of grass, evergreen foliage, climbers for height can work in deep shade. A colourful bird feeder would be a nice addition.

As a grassland ecologist, sometimes friends call me from the shops where they are standing in front of the grass seeds wondering what they should do. There is a lot of confusion, but we are in the best country in the world for grass growth. If there’s enough light you can’t stop it. You don’t need to feed your lawn unless you want to cut it more often. Feeding really just feeds nutrient-loving weeds like dandelions. And if you treat them, they break down making more nutrients.

A lot of grass seed is developed for farming and this will have strong growth. Don’t be tempted to buy that for your lawn even though it is cheaper. On the whole aim for fine-bladed species; cut and remove the clipping often to lower the nutrient level; and allow wild flowers to grow naturally (no need for seed, just let them come).

Gardens with thin soil on rubble can have lawns that are just as good as protected grasslands.

There are some woodland grass species that tolerate shade but they aren’t really suitable for lawns. In shade consider a Japanese moss garden, using sedges (a solution I’ve seen in Vietnam) or using forest plants like wild strawberry, wood sorrel and wood sanicle.

There can be a case made for artificial grass in certain situations: For wheelchair users it is a good solution.

In city housing where there is no light it could be used as an alternative to depressing concrete. Combined with planters and bird feeders it could bring joy to people who are limited in their garden experience for socioeconomic reasons.

Phoebe O’Brien is a botanist and BSBI plant recorder for County Clare and is co-author with Fran Giaquinto of the Farmland Identification Key for the ACRES programme.

What institutions are doing about it

• Tipperary County Council: We have no policy on artificial lawns and to the best of our knowledge no tenant has installed an artificial lawn on their property. There is a requirement on their tenancy agreement that they must first seek out approval before they make any changes or additions to their property (other than the standard maintenance etc). 

Dublin City University says ‘recyclable artificial grass is installed to replace a concrete surface in a single location on campus ... where we cannot use soil because of underground services infrastructure’.  Picture: @Feljin_J

• Waterford County Council: There is nothing specific with regard to artificial lawns in the Tenant’s Handbook, however the handbook states that tenants are responsible for the control of any plants and trees in the garden. Leylandii trees are not permitted because of potential problems with overgrowth of this species.
  In terms of Waterford City and County Council’s parks and public realm spaces there is only one site (University Hospital Waterford roundabout) that has a small patch of artificial grass, as part of an installation on the roundabout. Waterford City and County Council recognises the contribution that natural green spaces make to the environment.
  Bringing nature, particularly into urban areas, has the effect of protecting and enhancing natural ecosystems, and natural green spaces provide better soil quality and stability, helping to prevent run-off.
• Cork County Council: Cork County Council does not have a policy in place in relation to this matter but does not generally install artificial grass in Council properties. The only exception would be in one-off situations for visually or mobility-impaired tenants who cannot maintain garden space within their property.
• Kerry County Council: The issue of artificial grass has not arisen formally as of yet. There is a requirement on tenants to obtain Council permission for any improvements, alterations or additions which would include artificial lawns. The Tenants handbook state that you must get written permission from the Housing Dept before starting any improvements, alterations or additions to your home. Kerry County Council has not installed artificial grass in any of its Corporate Facilities.
• Cork City Council: There is no policy in place in Housing regarding artificial lawns. Any tenant changing a garden type would need prior approval of the Housing Department.
• Limerick City and County Council: The Parks Department has no policy around the use of artificial grass. Housing have a general policy that states if you want to make any structural changes that you consult the Council beforehand. This is more from a point of view of long-term maintenance and issues arising and possible insurance claims and not necessarily from the point of view of the environment.
  Separately, a Biodiversity Plan for the City was prepared in 2012. The aim of the plan is “To maintain, protect and enhance the biodiversity of Limerick City for future generations and to educate and promote the importance of Limerick City’s biodiversity for all.”
• Wicklow County Council: Confirmed it uses artificial turf at several multi-use games areas (MUGAs) in the county, including at Seaview Avenue, Arklow, Tinahely, and Little Tern Park, Kilcoole.
• DCU: Dublin City University currently maintains two full-size all-weather 3G artificial pitches which are used extensively by students and local communities and sports clubs, including CLG Na Fianna, Drumcondra FC, Bohemians FC etc. DCU has a number of five-a-side soccer pitches on its Glasnevin campus that are based on an artificial grass surface. We also maintain two full-size GAA grass pitches and rugby and soccer pitches.
  In addition, recyclable artificial grass is installed to replace a concrete surface in a single location on campus (ca 1.5% of the area of a GAA pitch) where we cannot use soil because of underground services infrastructure. DCU’s sustainability charter notes the university’s commitment to making decisions that lead to a zero-carbon organisation, and to embedding sustainability at the core of the university. This month, DCU will host its first Climate Justice Week for staff and students.
• MTU: Other than on facilities such as all-weather sports pitches, MTU does not use artificial grass. There are three all-weather pitches across MTU campuses at Bishopstown, the National Maritime College of Ireland in Ringaskiddy and the MTU Kerry North Campus.
• UCC:  A UCC spokesperson said there is no artificial grass on campus.

Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity

Artificial grass was referred to during the last meeting when members discussed questions for the ballot paper on the urban and built environment. The outcome of the vote on the question is not being disclosed until the report is published.

Ballot Paper 8 — Urban & Built Environment UB1: “The State must reform and update the planning and building regulations and legislation to better consider biodiversity in all new developments, with specific evidence-based and locally relevant biodiversity and environmental measures (eg inclusion of nesting bricks, restriction of artificial grass, green planting, corridors, sand and water etc).”