I've just registered with Gardener's World and was interested to see this discussion about the use of plastic mesh in lawn turf. I laid a new lawn around my pond a couple of years ago and had no idea that the plastic mesh was there. A few months afterwards I was watching a blackbird struggle to extract a nice big juicy worm out of the grass - it seemed to be having a real battle - on closer inspection I found that it's foot had got caught in some plastic meshing and it was well and truly stuck. I managed to free the bird and it flew off relatively unscathed (I got severly pecked in the process!!!). I was was absolutely horrified to find that the meshing was part of the turf I'd put down - if I hadn't been watching the blckbird struggle it could well have been badly injured or even worse. I coudn't bare the thought that it was a potential hazard to wildlife so the entire area had to be dug up - I've replaced the grass with a planted border.
If you're thinking of laying new lawn please PLEASE ask the supplier whether theres's a plastic mesh in the turf - it's potentially a death trap for wildlife.
According to friends who have asked directly, ALL Rolawn turf now contains mesh, so do avoid them altogether. My lawn is a state now as it got a lot of wear & tear when we had 4 enormous Leylandii removed, but as the mesh stops me being able to do any of the usual scarification etc I've just given up. I never sought a perfect lawn, but I'd like the option to maintain it.
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
I was in discussion with Rolawn on Twitter. It was all quite civil until I asked them to confirm that the plastic used for the mesh did not break down into microplastics harmful to the environment. Since then, deafening silence.
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
I discovered this thread after researching plastic mesh in garden turf. I moved into a new build almost two years ago now. Recently I was doing a little work in the garden and discovered this plastic mesh. I managed to slice my hand on it which made me realise how nasty it is. On closer inspection I found numerous patches in the garden where this mesh has started to come through. We have dogs and a little one on the way and this appear to be an accident waiting to happen. Recently we have had starlings in the garden and since I'm a keen photographer I snapped some photos, however I was shocked to see that one starling had this plastic mesh wrapped around it's head and was clearly struggling I will be contacting my home builder to hopefully get this addressed and will also try to find out the company they used and turf supplier. I'll also contact the RSPB to see what they say. If this stuff is being used in gardens throughout the UK I can only imagine that it's contributing to the death of hundreds of thousands of birds and other garden visitors.
Flag it up to the Daily Mail or some such ... they can do a campaign ... they like stuff like that ... especially now while everyone’s locked in their gardens
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I'd flag it up to Chris Packham or Mark Avery as they've been fighting bird netting on construction projects. What has been lacking so far with the argument is the lack of evidence for potential harm to wildlife but those photos are very useful.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
It is horrendous stuff, I never even considered the implications for wild life. It should be banned and companies that lay it without customer knowledge should replace it.
Once turf has this mesh, it has to go into landfill as can’t go in green waste.😡
Posts
If you're thinking of laying new lawn please PLEASE ask the supplier whether theres's a plastic mesh in the turf - it's potentially a death trap for wildlife.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.