Originally posted on April 24, 2020 @ 8:20 pm
Traditionally, landscaped lawns, athletic fields, and golf courses, while functional and aesthetically pleasing, use a lot of water. Water use and the surrounding issues have a significant effect on the population and will likely continue to be relevant to public health, sustainability, and the economy.
Artificial turf saves water that property owners would otherwise use to water natural grass. While artificial turf saves water as a grass replacement for sports fields, lawns and landscaping, and golf courses, it has other benefits too. Artificial turf is lush and green year-round, pet friendly, and the water savings will make both the environment and your wallet happier.
Why Saving Water Matters
Saving water is important, both from a cost perspective and an environmental one.
Many people don’t realize that fresh drinking water is a valuable and limited resource. Water conservation is all about ensuring that there is enough water for everyone to use. Everything from the production of food to bathing requires water. From this perspective, using water just to keep a yard looking nice is a waste, especially if you’ve ever lived in a drought-touched area.
The average American uses between 100 and 175 gallons of water every day, and globally, human beings consume around 4 trillion cubic meters of freshwater a year. Agriculture alone can consume 75 to 90% of a given region’s available freshwater–Food for thought when you’re thinking about your lawn!
How does synthetic turf help? Well, the 6,000+ synthetic turf fields in the US save between 500,000 and 1,000,000 gallons of water apiece each year. In a year alone, that’s 3 billion gallons or more. Those numbers can really start to add up.
Environmental Impact
When you use water, there’s always the possibility that it can become polluted or contaminated for a number of reasons. Once this pollution and contamination have happened, that water can go back into the environment and negatively affect plants and wildlife.
The EPA indicates that pesticides and fertilizers are one of the main causes of water pollution, which means that thousands of miles and acres of lakes are often affected by these chemicals, all in the service of maintaining grass.
We don’t want to pollute our environment for health reasons, both our neighbors’ health and our own. Artificial turf doesn’t require any pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers to maintain, which can have negative effects on environmental health. Yet another reason to choose artificial turf.
And if that’s not enough, artificial turf saves the world quite a bit in terms of rubber. Crumb rubber from recycled tires that is used as turf infill, pulls around 105 million used tires out of the recycling system. Believe it or not, it’s better to have old tires go to your infill, rather than your landfill. Don’t even get us started on all of those grass clippings piling up.
Save Energy
Once water gets polluted, we have to start worrying about water treatment. Water treatment plants use quite a bit of energy. According to a study done in 2013, water treatment utilizes about 30 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, which is roughly 0.8% of the total electricity used in the US.
Our reliance on limited resources to produce energy and clean our water means that we ought to be mindful and careful about how they are used. That 0.8% of electricity used for water treatment may seem insignificant, but when you take into account the amount of energy we use for everything else too, every little bit of conservation is a step in the right direction. Energy production can also produce pollution and waste, and negatively affect the environment. Save energy, save money, and while you’re at it, reduce damage to the environment.
Saving Water Saves You Money
As a limited resource, water costs money, you have to pay for what you use. It doesn’t matter how well-intentioned you are, that water meter will just keep counting and your bill will keep going up as you water that yard, especially if you live somewhere dry.
Save your water for more important stuff, and switch to artificial turf. You can use that extra water for watering a vegetable garden or filling up a pool in the hot summer months. You could install your own home putting green to enjoy at your leisure without a club membership or spending extra time and water on maintaining it. Or, just take a bath in the money you’ll be saving–It’ll be hundreds of dollars a year. And, your yard won’t suffer for it. Artificial turf makes for a verdant and attractive lawn, so you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood, saving money, and saving the environment all at once.
The more water we use, the more water we lose. The more energy we use, the more pollution we end up creating. Occasionally, you might need to use water to cool down artificial turf in the hotter months, but it doesn’t take much. Don’t waste your money or our water on keeping the lawn green, and get turf instead. Get in touch with one of our customer service representatives, or start browsing our products today!
