Waste Reduction

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Replacement Cost Triples for Artificial Turf in Stonington Town

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February 5, 2024 UPDATE Replacement Cost Triples for Artificial Turf in Stonington
Town no longer funding $1 million expense. By Carrie Czerwinski, The Day
“After 10 years of wear and tear, taxpayers will be footing the bill for far more than they anticipated to replace artificial turf on the high school football field.” Click HERE for the full article.

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CT League of Conservation Voters Environmental Summit 2023

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Several members of GCA’s board and steering committee attended the CT LCV summit on Tuesday, January 24th. The LCV is a “non-partisan, statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to giving our environment a voice at the Capitol.” Twenty-one briefing papers were the topics of panel discussions ranging from the 30 x 30 goal (30% of CT’s forest and farm acreage protected by 2030), environmental justice, decarbonization, offshore wind, polystyrene and composting, to black bears, rodenticides and neonicotinoids. We urge you to read as many of the excellent and informative papers as you can.

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Synthetic Turf or Natural Grass for Groton?

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Turf is already piling up on the sides of roads and being stored on private properties throughout the US because there are so few recycling facilities and it is prohibitively expensive to ship them. Without any rules or oversight, disposed turf becomes the burden and responsibility of anyone who lives around it. Photo by CAMERON CLARK, YORK PA DAILY RECORD

January 2021 Groton’s Athletic Fields Task Force (AFTF) will soon be bringing to a close its investigation into Groton’s need for athletic fields and reported on January 12th to the Town Council on its findings. For GCA, there is no question that Groton’s 60-year old school sports infrastructure needs a complete overhaul; the question is, what kind of fields should Groton build in response to the increased demand from our school and community sports teams for playing fields?

The Task Force is recommending that the town build several synthetic turf (ST) fields in lieu of natural or grass fields. Approximately six ST fields are being proposed out of the 12 fields identified as needed. The Groton Middle School already has one ST field for a total of seven. Synthetic fields have proliferated around the country because they enable more playing time on the fields and year-round use rather than seasonal activity. But these fields come at a considerable cost.

GCA worked for over a year to secure passage of Ordinance #293 to Ban Single-Use Plastics in the Town of Groton. The fact that Groton is now contemplating covering acres of land with non-recyclable and potentially harmful plastic is disturbing. We do not oppose building the new fields that the town needs; we do support building new or renovating existing natural grass fields rather than synthetic turf because independent research shows that grass fields are safer and healthier for of our athletes and our environment.

GRASS VS. SYNTHETIC TURF SUMMARY Sources: Safe Healthy Playing Fields, Inc.,  TURI cost analysis survey, Environment and Human Health, and Sports Turf Managers Association

  • Costs: Grass Vs. Synthetic Turf ST costs more to install, almost as much to maintain, and has to be replaced once it wears out after 8 to 10 years. The worn-out fields cannot be recycled anywhere in the US, which creates more environmental problems and costs. According to the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute in September 2016, “in nearly all scenarios, the full life-cycle cost of natural turf is lower than the life-cycle cost of a ST field for an equivalent area.”

  • Maintenance: Grass vs. Synthetic Turf Annual maintenance- similar; long-term maintenance- far more required for ST

  • Toxicity to People, Kids & Environment Research on health and environmental effects of ST has focused mostly on the potential effects of crumb rubber, the most commonly used infill ingredient in ST. Communities are moving away from crumb rubber to alternative substances such as coconut and cork fibers and ground olive pits because research shows that aging crumb rubber releases many toxic substances into the atmosphere and water systems, endangering children and the environment. We understand that Groton used an alternative infill, “corkonut,” or cork and coconut, in its first ST field at the Groton Middle School. This infill is a welcome improvement over crumb rubber, but studies of alternative infills are not available yet. Over time, corkonut is known to turn to dust, blow away and float readily during storm events, fouling waterways with suspended solids and nutrients. Any binders/adhesives and biocides/antifungals used on the field will also end up in our waterways.

  • Injuries/Player Preference: Professional soccer and football players overwhelmingly prefer grass fields. An August 2019 sports medicine article found that high school athletes were “58 percent more likely to sustain an injury during athletic activity on artificial turf. Injury rates were significantly higher for football, girls and boys soccer, and rugby athletes. Lower extremity, upper extremity, and torso injuries were also found to occur with a higher incidence on artificial turf.”

  • Heat: Synthetic grass increases turf heat up to 60 degrees in the summer; natural grass reduces heat.

  • What do the sports experts think about natural grass vs synthetic turf? Sports Turf Managers Association: “The environmental and human health benefits alone make natural grass fields a desirable option when considering keeping or building a high school athletic field. The cost effectiveness of construction and annual maintenance only add to their appeal. It is important to have a complete understanding of the costs and benefits associated with both natural and synthetic surfaces when considering converting from natural grass to a synthetic surface. Oftentimes many of the benefits of natural grass systems are overlooked because of strong arguments and marketing efforts of synthetic turf companies.”  Quote excerpted from an article titled Natural Grass Athletic Fields from STMA, the non-profit, professional association for the men and women who manage outdoor sports fields worldwide.

February 5, 2024 UPDATE Replacement Cost Triples for Artificial Turf in Stonington
Town no longer funding $1 million expense. By Carrie Czerwinski, The Day
“After 10 years of wear and tear, taxpayers will be footing the bill for far more than they anticipated to replace artificial turf on the high school football field.” Click HERE for the full article.


October 19, 2023 UPDATE Once hailed as a drought fix, California moves to restrict synthetic turf over health concerns. By Shreya Agrawal, October 18, 2023
“Emerging research is making it clear that artificial turf poses an environmental threat due to its lack of recyclability and presence of toxins such as lead and PFAS,” said California Sen. Ben Allen, the Redondo Beach Democrat who authored the bill. Click HERE for the full article.

September 20, 2023, UPDATE More on synthetic turf injuries!
NFL players union renews call for grass fields after Aaron Rodgers’ injury . “Yes, NFL players prefer playing on natural grass. It’s why the NFL Players Association called on the league Wednesday to switch all fields to grass in what executive director Lloyd Howell said was “the easiest decision the NFL can make.” Click HERE or on the link above to read the full article.

September 13, 2023, UPDATE Another article on synthetic turf — NFL addresses ongoing turf debate, rekindled player outrage after Aaron Rodgers injury— came out in a publication titled The Athletic. The injury “refueled a debate over playing surfaces across the league. After Rodgers tore his Achilles against the Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football,” some of his former teammates shared strong anti-turf sentiments on social media.” Click here to read more.

September 1, 2023, UPDATE An interesting article, first published in NewScientist, was made available to the public by The Cool Down on August 26, 2023. The article is titled Scientists make jarring discovery while analyzing coastal waters: ‘We were really surprised that nobody had reported this before’. In brief, researchers at the University of Barcelona recently discovered, after seven years of analyzing plastics found off Barcelona’s coast, that as artificial turf breaks down over time, high concentrations of turf fibers from artificial turf made their way into the soil and waterways, contributing significantly to plastic pollution. 
Ocean plastics threaten animals and ecosystems. For example, birds, whales, fish, and turtles mistake plastic for prey. Their stomachs can become lined with it, causing them to starve. They may also suffer from infections, cuts, internal injuries, and reduced swimming abilities according to the International Union of Concerned Scientists.
Artificial turf reaches higher temperatures than natural grass. It absorbs significantly more radiation than living vegetation, thereby potentially contributing to the warming of the planet. Read the whole article by clicking on the title link above.

July 9, 2021 UPDATE The New York Times did a study of synthetic turf in order to recommend to homeowners the best turf options available in the United States…. As their research progressed, however, they realized they “had serious reservations—synthetic turf can be a bad value over the long term, there are serious environmental problems to consider, and the costs to install and maintain any sizable, well-done installation proved so high that we concluded we’d be better off investing the money and effort in just about any other form of landscaping.” Click here to read the whole article.

Feb. 5, 2021, UPDATE On Feb. 2, 2021, GCA presented a robust PowerPoint slide show to the Town Council in response to the Athletic Field Task Force preliminary presentation to the Town Council a month earlier which recommended that five new synthetic turf fields be built in Groton. Click on the button below to see our PowerPoint presentation on the serious problems of synthetic turf and the advantages of organically managed natural grass fields. In the interest of sustainability, we hope our town will ensure that everyone, children and adults alike, will be playing on the safest and most environmentally-friendly fields possible. Please read our Letter to the Town Council below for more information.

Progress on Single-Use Plastics

Window cling showing support for the plastics reduction ordinance

The Town of Groton joined over 20 other Connecticut towns on January 7, 2020, when the Town Council passed a ban on single-use plastic bags at check-out. Groton’s ban also includes a ban on plastic straws and polystyrene (Styrofoam) cups, trays and clam shells.   The Representative Town Meeting then voted overwhelmingly to support the ban in February.  The ban was scheduled to go into effect July 7th, 2020 but due to hardship associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the town opted not to enforce the ban until October 5.  

This ordinance puts Groton in the vanguard of single-use plastics reduction in the state of CT.

There is still lots of work to do educating the public and Groton businesses on the ordinance. Spot-checking around town reveals that there is good compliance but also the need to educate some restaurants and carry-out establishments.

PLASTIC REDUCTION SUPPORTER CLINGS

To encourage and celebrate compliance, GCA partnered with the Groton Conservation Commission, The Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Groton to develop a window “cling” that stores can display in their front windows to let the public know they support and comply with our plastics reduction ordinance. This beautiful cling was designed by local artist Lisa Hill. Unfortunately, just as we were rolling out the cling campaign, COVID 19 hit town, and we have had to pull back until the COVID plague has passed. A few businesses are already displaying the cling and supporting our mission. Lets do the same for them!  

NIPS Glinting in gutters and lurking in landscapes, NIPS bottles are a familiar eyesore. The tiny liquor bottles are one of the biggest litter problems that remain in the Town of Groton and momentum is gathering at the state level to ban NIPS altogether. To find out where Groton residents stand on the issue, the Conservation Commission conducted a survey of local residents and business owners and found that of 384 respondents, 81% feel NIPS are a litter problem and 55% perceive them as a major problem. Similarly, about 70% of respondents feel that they should be eliminated. Currently at the state level, four bills have been submitted to the Committee on Environment to try and mitigate the problem: Bill 465 expands bottle bill to apply to NIPs bottles and sports drinks; Bill 280 (sponsored by Senator Heather Somers) provides 25-cent redemption fee on NIPS; Bill 6641 eliminates the sale of NIPS bottles in Connecticut; Bill 5811 expands the bottle bill to include NIPS and provides for the creation of redemption centers. The Conservation Commission has recommended that the Town Council support these bills, and GCA concurs.

May 29, 2021 UPDATE

HB 6502 will ban polystyrene takeout products statewide. The restaurant industry is claiming this will be a great hardship for restaurants recovering from the pandemic, but the bill does not go into effect until July 1, 2023. We will be well recovered by then. Groton's ban on polystyrene take-out containers has worked very well. Polystyrene litters our streets and parks, is swallowed by birds and fish and never fully breaks down. Nor is there a recycling system in Connecticut for it. Please let the legislative leaders know how successful and unproblematic the polystyrene ban has been in Groton. You can share this very powerful op-ed from the Connecticut Mirror too. Read more here.

HB 1037 will reform our state bottle recycling system to include juice, tea and other beverage bottles in our deposit program and increase the deposit from five to ten cents, critical for recycling programs to stay viable. The bill also puts a ten-cent deposit on nips, which would be a huge help in cleaning up these little pieces of trash all over our communities. The beverage industry is proposing to delay this increase until other states act and to tax nips instead of putting on a deposit, which would do nothing to discourage throwing them out the window. The bill should be passed as it came out of committee.

GCA Takes on Roadside Litter

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GCA is in the early stages of a campaign to reduce roadside litter in Groton. We’ve had preliminary talks with members of the Town Council, Department of Public Works, Conservation Commission and police force. Progress is not yet visible to the public, but seeds have been planted. 

We believe a good start toward keeping roadways cleaner would be to post a limited number of no-littering signs on town and state roads. Groton, to our knowledge, has none at present, even though littering is a finable offense under state law.

The message on signs is yet to be determined. We’ve had a number of suggested candidates, most of them from the town Department of Public Works, under Director Gary Schneider. They vary in tone from stern to philosophical to funny. The list below shows only the slogan, not the caution against littering that would accompany it.

The suggestions so far:  Be part of the solution, not the pollution; Feed the can, man; Slam dunk the junk; You think we like picking up after you? (with a photo of a mom and dad); I hate that empty feeling inside (seen on a trash receptacle); Put trash in its place; Join the green side (with an image of Darth Vader);  If you litter, the future will be bitter; Reuse, Reduce, Recycle; Fill me up buttercup (seen on another trash receptacle)

Reader, if you have a message of your own, please share it with us at groconadv2017@gmail.com