The product environmental footprint approach to compare the environmental performances of artificial and natural turf

• Published in: Environmental impact assessment review 2022-07, Vol.95, p.106800, Article 106800
• Main Authors: Russo, Carlo, Cappelletti, Giulio Mario, Nicoletti, Giuseppe Martino
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Artificial; Artificial turf; Comparative analysis; Data quality; End of life; End of life decisions; Energy conservation; Environmental performance; Football; Football playground; Footprint analysis; Infill; Life cycle analysis; Life cycle assessment; Life cycles; Parks & recreation areas; Playgrounds; Product environmental footprint; Recycled Tyres; Sustainability; Tires; Turf; Water conservation
• ISSN: 0195-9255; 1873-6432
• DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2022.106800

The aim of this paper is to test, for the first time, the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) approach in a comparative analysis of the environmental performance of a soccer field for 11 players made with natural turf and one made with artificial turf with used tyres as infill material. At the same way, for the first time, Data Quality Rating (DQR) was purposed as instrument for comparing the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) focused on the two football playgrounds. Along the life cycle, the construction phases of the field, its use and its maintenance were considered. While, as for the End-of-Life, the Circular Footprint Formula was adopted for evaluating the avoided impacts of material disposing. The research highlights, as concerning this latter aspect, how the improvement of recovery technologies is a crucial issue in making artificial turf a really sustainable alternative to natural turf. On the other hand, as for natural turf, the adoption of water- and energy-saving technologies combined with the search for less demanding herbaceous species must be the challenge of the future. [Display omitted] •Positive and negative aspects arise from the infill material used in synthetic turf.•Used tyres as infill material could represent a sustainable solution.•The comparison of synthetic turf and natural grass is based on LCA and PEF approach.•Circular Footprint Formula was adopted to the End-of-life stage.•Data Quality Rating was applied to the LCA in order to make the study comparable.