natural grass
Environmental Benefits of Synthetic Turf
Issued by Synthetic Turf Council – 2011
Landscape
1. Saves Water – A Resource in Short Supply
- According to the EPA, over one-third of residential water is used for lawn irrigation nationwide, totaling over 4 billion gallons of water a day.
- The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates that every square foot of natural grass replaced saves an additional 55 gallons of water per year. The average lawn is 1,800 square feet, so the average home with synthetic turf saves 99,000 gallons of water each year.
- The average U.S. Household can save up to 70% on their water bill, or $500.
- Earns LEED points for Water Efficient Landscaping
2. Eliminates the use of lawn mowers
- According to the EPA, a 3.5 horsepower gas-powered lawn mower releases the same amount of air polluting emissions in one hour as a new car driven 340 miles.
- Over 17 million gallons of gas and oil are spilled each year from refueling lawn equipment; that is more oil than was spilled by the Exxon Valdez.
3. Eliminates the use of toxic pesticides and fertilizers
- The EPA has identified runoff of toxic pesticides and fertilizers as a principal cause of water pollution. Synthetic turf eliminates the need for pesticides and fertilizers.
Sports Fields
1. Saves Water – A Resource in Short Supply
- One full-size synthetic turf sports field saves 500,000 to 1,000,000 gallons of water each year. For example, the El Paso Independent School District estimates its 10 new synthetic turf sports fields will save 80 million gallons of water each year, and $832,000 in water, mowing, repairs, and general maintenance.
- Earns LEED points for Water Efficient Landscaping
2. Recycles tens of millions of used tires annually to be used as crumb rubber infill
3. Eliminates the use of billions of pounds of toxic pesticides and fertilizers
- The EPA has identified runoff of toxic pesticides and fertilizers as a principal cause of water pollution. In Florida alone, the EPA estimates that about 1,000 miles of rivers and streams, 350,000 acres of lakes and 900 square miles of estuaries are impaired by runoff of pesticides and fertilizers.
Act Global Sports is a proud member of the Synthetic Turf Council.
Information gathered from www.syntheticturfcouncil.org
Lurgan Town Boys Football Club is happy with Xtreme Turf
In June of 2010 the training field in Lurgan Town was successfully tested by Labosport, conducted under FIFA Preferred Producer, ACT Global Sports.
Lurgan Town Boys Football Club in Northern Ireland was developed in 1988 to give all boys the opportunity to play football. With solid management and a strong following, the club has won many trophies and is now considered one of the top junior clubs in the country.
The club needed a new generation of football turf for their training grounds. Lurgan Town F.C. has chosen ACT Global Sports’ Xtreme Turf based on the natural appearance and proven durable playing surface. According to the clubs President, Mr. Maurice Houston, “We are very excited with this new playing field which will expand our capacity tremendously. The training field demonstrates beyond the top quality we requested from a FIFA one star field but under two star standards. The Directors of Lurgan Town Arena are extremely pleased not only with the quality of the pitch but the professional manner in which ACT Global carried out and supervised the work from start to finish.”
Director of ACT Global Sports, Wil Ditzel mentions, “In our testing protocol, all our products are tested under one and two star FIFA requirements, whereby the awarded two star certification has tighter tolerances. The club’s advantage of now having a four year certification will benefit by possibly renting shared hours of the field to local schools or other clubs. Lurgan Town F.C. is also confirmed that their members are playing on a safe surface.”
ACT Global Sports is headquartered in Austin, Texas with additional production locations in Calhoun, Georgia, Asia and Europe. The company services their international clients through offices in The Netherlands, Cyprus, Poland, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, UK and France. Local sales and support is offered through an expanding partner network of leading sport field contractors in over 50 countries.
Performance Testing
In order to achieve natural grass type performance, the artificial turf system must be tested. ACT Global Sports is a recognized leader in sports performance testing as it uses criteria based upon studies conducted on professional natural grass stadiums. These methods employed by FIFA include combines four areas including durability, climatic resistance, player-to-surface interaction and ball-to-surface interaction.
We are pleased to share the definitions of these performance measurements:
DURABILITY
Simulated Wear (Abrasion Resistance) – The surface is artificially abraded (simulation of five year period of wear) and tested for the following: Shock Absorption, Vertical Deformation, Vertical Ball Rebound, and Rotational Resistance.
Joint Strength – Measures the maximum force recorded to destroy the joints where they are sewn or adhered with adhesive.
CLIMATIC RESISTANCE
UV / Water / Heat – Measures the colour change, abrasion resistance and joint strength.
PLAYER-TO-SURFACE INTERACTION
Shock Absorption – Measures the impact absorption provided by the surface to a player running or falling on it.
Vertical Deformation (Foot Stability) – Measures the stability of the surface as a player runs across it.
Rotational Resistance (Traction) – Measures the interaction between the shoe sole and the surface relating to the ability of a player to change direction.
Slip resistance scale – It is a measure of the ability of the studs to slide through the surface without causing the player to slip over
Slip resistance deceleration – Measures the deceleration experienced by the players shoe as it makes contact with the surface. If the deceleration is too high then damage to joints and ligaments may occur.
Skin Abrasion – Measures the abrasiveness of the surface on the skin of the player when sliding.
Skin Friction – Measures the friction of the surface on the skin of the player when sliding
BALL-TO-SURFACE INTERACTION
Vertical ball rebound – Measures how high the ball bounces when falling vertically
Ball roll – measures how far the ball rolls onto the surface compared to natural grass
Angled ball behaviour – Measures how the ball rebounds from the surface when striking it at a shallow angle under dry and wet conditions
Links
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