synthetic turf made from microplastics will soon be banned on sports grounds

It is the announced death of these synthetic sports grounds: the European Commission proposes to ban them within six years. What is problematic in these synthetic football or rugby pitches is that they are made with microplastics.

In 2018, ANSES, the Health Security Agency, estimated that the health risk for users was negligible. She had ruled out the risk of cancer. But these particles are made with recycled tires or polymers. And like these hair-finer aggregates, they escape into the environment. They can be found in water, fruits and vegetables and therefore, ultimately, in our body. “These aggregates are toxic to the environment and potentially to human health, confirms Hélène Duguy, a lawyer specializing in chemicals for the NGO Client Earth, who pleads for the banning of these microplastics. Due to their use and transport, aggregates often end up in sewers, and therefore in the environment. It is a significant pollution: there are approximately 16,000 tonnes of emissions per year.”

The European Commission proposes to ban the construction of synthetic sports grounds based on microplastics: it would no longer be possible to build new ones within six years. Currently there are 4,400, this represents 10% of the park. For Gilles Thillaye, who runs Eurofield, a construction company that has just under half of the market, the transition is underway: “Everyone has become aware, and today 70% of our pitches are made with neutral materials. We use organic filling: cork, recomposed wood…”

“We are ready to adapt, but the entire tire production sector is likely to have major economic difficulties.”

Gilles Thillaye

at franceinfo

Some municipalities have already started the transition. La Ciotat, for example, inaugurated a stadium made of crushed olive pits more than two years ago. The equipment cost 50,000 euros more than a microplastic structure.