April 18, 2024
Sent via email to Palo Alto Parks and Recreation Commission: ParkRec.commission@cityofpaloalto.org
Re: Adding the study of a moratorium on artificial turf in the Palo Alto Parks and Recreation fiscal year 2025 priorities
Dear Palo Alto Parks and Recreation Commissioners,
The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter encourages Palo Alto to join the cities of Millbrae and San Marino, to add either a ban or long term moratorium on artificial turf within Palo Alto’s jurisdictional boundaries. We hope this Commission considers adding the “study of a moratorium on artificial turf” to their fiscal year 2025 priorities. The County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors recently approved a referral for staff to begin study on the creation of an ordinance banning artificial turf.
There are a variety of negative public health and ecological impacts of artificial turf.
- Artificial turf is a plastic petroleum product, and its manufacture and entire lifecycle pollutes our air and water.
- Unlike plants, it prevents air and light from reaching the soil, therefore it can’t sequester carbon.
- As plastics degrade, microplastics permeate the air and soil and wash into our watersheds. Microplastics are now found in the food we eat and even in newborns.
- The turf industry admits that turf is not recyclable because it is comprised of layers of different petroleum products that can not be separated. After its 10-year lifespan, it is buried in a landfill or incinerated which releases CO2 into the atmosphere. Even the most “advanced” “chemical” recycling causes more pollution than was caused during the plastic’s original production.
- Plastic becomes hot in sunlight, causing heat islands that can be seen from satellites. The San Francisco Estuary Institute’s Moffett Park Specific Plan Urban Ecology satellite images (p. 16-17) show the urban heat island effect where “synthetic turf fields at Twin Creeks Sports Complex <have> the highest surface temperatures” seen in the area.
- The heat island effect, in turn, causes our kids to overheat on hot days more while playing on the artificial turf.
- Artificial turf surfaces are harder than natural grass or even dirt, so when our kids fall on it they are more likely to have lower limb injuries, and those injuries, overall, are likely to be more severe than similar injuries on a grass field.
- Artificial turf plastics are mixed with specialized, proprietary chemicals, like PFAS, that come with their own set of public health harms. The EPA has taken notice, and water intended for drinking will now need new methods for removing PFAS and other chemicals.
In short, artificial turf has no place in our landscapes or on our playgrounds. There are drought tolerant plants and high traffic, long-playing natural sports-grasses available.
We urge Palo Alto to join the cities of Millbrae and San Marino in banning or placing a long term moratorium on artificial turf in Mountain View. Given the reputation of Palo Alto as a leader in environmental protection, we are confident it will lead among Bay Area cities, becoming the next city after Millbrae to ban this dangerous substance.
Sincerely,
Susan Hinton
Chair, Plastic Pollution Prevention Team
Environmental Stewardship Program
Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter
CC:
Kristen O’Kaine, Palo Alto PRC Staff Liason
Javod Ghods, Palo Alto Staff Administration
James Eggers, Chapter Director, Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter
Gita Dev, Conservation Committee Chair, Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter