It brings with it the loss of habitats and additional flood risk.
What additional flood risk. The sub-base is permeable.
I'm sure that sounded great in the brochure but the reality often doesn't meet the expectation. Even a professionally laid permeable base only has around 80% of the drainage that soft landscaping allows and most aren't professionally laid. I work in the industry so I get both sides of the picture. There are proposals to bring in planning laws to prevent people ripping out all the soft landscaping in gardens because it's becoming so rife now.
So there would be a ban on patios too? Hardstandings of some sort for cars is a necessity in many areas, particularly new builds where the roads are too narrow for cars to be parked on them and some estates actually ban parking of cars anywhere other than on designated parking areas. In a perfect world maybe everybody could have the perfect natural green lawn with picture perfect borders planted to give year round food for insects and birds, but we don't live in a perfect world. At times we need to be pragmatic and accept that what works isn't always idea.
Planning rules don't generally ban anything but they do regulate work where it is being proven to have a detrimental affect on the built environment. The principal of the proposals as far as I know is to prevent rain water runoff into the sewerage system and neighbour's gardens, protect ecosystems and wildlife corridors, and generally just stopping gardens becoming concrete and plastic deserts. Planning law has a mandate to protect and enhance biodiversity. Councils also know that they'll be footing the bill for the landfill tax for all this plastic grass in a few years time. I'm not saying it will be done well, half the problem with plastic grass is caused by the lack of planning input stopping developers selling houses with a postage stamp sized scrap of rubble filled garden that isn't good for anything else.
It isn't just the odd patch of greenery for people with limited mobility either it's a billion £ industry with boat loads of plastic grass arriving from China now. It's not just the grass either. Once people get into this plastic garden mentality then you can clearly see the trend expanding to plastic topiary, hedges, hanging baskets, succulent plants etc etc. As gardeners we can do better and need to positively encourage people away from plastic grass when it's brought up on the forum.
I am right behind you @wild edges. You have hit the nail on the head regards to artificial grass leading to the inclusion of various plastic plants and other gardening paraphernalia being accepted as the norm - we don't want plastic in our gardens, although sadly for the majority of homes plastic is included in most products from toys, cooking implements and food wrappings. I grew up in a plastic free home as I am sure most of our older forum members did too, but as time went on plastic found it's way in either due to cost or lack of choice, and now we are having to cope with the consequences either through air or sea pollution, landfill sites filling too quickly through sheer waste and soil pollution. Surely the Government needs to step in. You can't stop the public from buying these products if they are for sale unless there is a ban on their importation or ideally their manufacture.
Ah - thank you K67 - I've found it now. Is the topping permanent or does it have to be renewed? This thread escalated rather quickly ...
I haven't topped ours up yet and its been down 2 years. Most grass is topped off with sand which is cheaper but does hold smells. I recommend the topdogturf website that has some useful information.
As to drainage ours never gets soggy as we put down a lot hard-core for drainage but other gardens with grass and some of the verges water log but that's down to the bad turf laying. And although I have plastic turf I do agree it's probably the start, across from us they have plastic flowers in hanging baskets. Plastic decking? Mostly made from recycled plastic so unless we stop completely we have to recycle it somehow. On a blowing my own trumpet note since I got married 50 years ago I have always used my own reusable bags for supermarket shopping so ending with a family of 5 I wonder how many carrier bags that works out to?🤔
And back to you @Tcrawford510 I forgot to say that my grass has crushed granite base not sand and it has a special infill on top called zeostop which neutralise the dog urine and stops the grass smelling and it works, not a nasty smell even in the extreme heat. I think it's the nature of artificial grass to crunch.
Thanks. I bought a different type of membrane that took the crunch away & the grass looks lovely now.
If you don't like mowing grass K67, or haven't the energy, why not just lay a terrace or some gravel or maybe a chamomile or thyme lawn that doesn't need a weekly mow.
My responese earlier still holds. Plastic grass is DIY not gardening and this is a gardening forum for people who like messing with plants.
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https://www.selandscapeconstruction.co.uk/services/driveways/block-paving-planning-permission/
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
As to drainage ours never gets soggy as we put down a lot hard-core for drainage but other gardens with grass and some of the verges water log but that's down to the bad turf laying.
And although I have plastic turf I do agree it's probably the start, across from us they have plastic flowers in hanging baskets.
Plastic decking? Mostly made from recycled plastic so unless we stop completely we have to recycle it somehow.
On a blowing my own trumpet note since I got married 50 years ago I have always used my own reusable bags for supermarket shopping so ending with a family of 5 I wonder how many carrier bags that works out to?🤔
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.