One Look At Our Turf, And You Know We Love Keeping Things Green.
There are many ways in which AstroTurf® is using recycled and renewable content and other “green” technologies to lead the synthetic turf industry in a commitment to the environment. In fact, through the depth of AstroTurf®’s integrated manufacturing units, an ever increasing number of “green” components is being added to every AstroTurf® system.
For example, our backing systems employ BioCel™ technology, an environmentally friendly unitary polyurethane backing system that eliminates the need for petroleum-based polymers. BioCel™ combines soybean oil and a highly refined form of the mineral lignite to form a backing system that is unaffected by moisture and can be perforated for enhanced drainage. Eliminating the need for petroleum based polymers, BioCel™ reduces dependence on foreign oils and landfill waste while extending product durability and improving indoor and outdoor air quality.
AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ all-rubber infill systems are composed of highly durable rubber, extracted from post consumer recycled tires by certified recyclers all across the US. These materials have been rigorously tested by the international scientific communities for both environmental and human health hazards and have been found to pose no risks. In fact, the EPA approves the use of post-consumer tires for the purpose of athletic fields. In a typical field, AstroTurf® will use up to 12,000 recycled passenger tires.
Celceram™ is a recovered green component that stabilizes and toughens the polyurethane compound. It is a product of coal combustion in an electrical utility power plant, carefully selected and processed for its component and performance characteristics. Bio-based polymers are manufactured with a portion of the polyol coming from a renewable resource, the soybean plant.
The backing materials alone in AstroTurf systems offer significant percentages of recycled and sustainable components, up to 70% green by weight. The backing system employed by AstroTurf is a composite of sustainable, post-consumer and recovered materials. Incorporating such components contributes to the total building materials requirement of rapidly renewable materials under the Material and Resources Section of Version 2.0 of the LEED guidelines.
AstroTurf® can also help earn more points for the US Green Building Council’s LEED® certification program. The post-consumer, recycled tires and water consumption reductions can contribute additional points towards LEED certification.