what is the infill material used in artificial turf fields css 202

Approximately half of the granulates (21% of total ELT) is used as infill on sports pitches. Depending on the size fraction, the granulates are used as filler in for instance asphalt (0–1 mm), as infill in sports fields (1–2 mm), rubber tiles (2–4 mm) and as an elastic layer beneath sports fields (4–8 mm).

Granulates come in different size fractions. Major destinations of ELT are rubber granulate and powders they absorb 43% of the total ELT. If these recommendations are implemented, the emission of ELT granulates to the environment can be reduced to virtually zero. Recommended mitigation measures are containment through optimized field and drainage construction, suitable maintenance equipment and practices and good-housekeeping rules for players and groundkeepers and handling end-of-life pitches. This paper shows the current state-of-knowledge about ELT granulate dispersal and shows that approximately 600–1200 kg refill is required annually to compensate for compaction and for some infill waste on pavements and in drainage sinks. In combination with unawareness and improper piling of snow in the past, these are the causes of the high estimates of infill dispersal per year. However, it has been ignored that part of the refill is needed because the infill layer settles and becomes more dense (compaction) and that part of the lost infill is collected and reused on the fields. By reviewing grey research reports, we found out that the dispersal rates are based on the false assumption that the annual granulate demand for refilling is necessary because of granulate losses to the environment. An amount of 3000–5000 kg granulate per field per year is currently used as underpinning for a European proposal to ban rubber infill as part of the intended restriction on intentionally added microplastics in 2021. However, dispersal of rubber infill to the environment is perceived as a problem. In doing so it avoids an annual CO 2 emission comparable with the amount that could be absorbed by around 30 km 2 of forest. The production of granulates as infill for artificial turf is able to process 21% of the end-of-life tyres in Europe, approximately 600 million kg per year.

What is the infill material used in artificial turf fields css 202