I would love to know what the precise definition used for "Have plastic grass" is. Does the area have to be over x square metres/yards to be counted? Is it over a certain % of the garden? If an old offcut of plastic grass is used as a door mat would that be included?
It's the standard problem of statistics, without knowing all the information about the information gather the stats are meaningless.
I would love to know what the precise definition used for "Have plastic grass" is. Does the area have to be over x square metres/yards to be counted? Is it over a certain % of the garden? If an old offcut of plastic grass is used as a door mat would that be included?
It's the standard problem of statistics, without knowing all the information about the information gather the stats are meaningless.
Isn't that missing the point? Even if you have a little you are contributing to the problem. No one needs this stuff.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
without knowing all the information about the information gather the stats are meaningless.
There is quite a bit of detail in the survey overview. For the purposes of this, no green plastic doormats etc didn't count - only the replacing of existing lawn into plastic. (Sorry font went weird)
-A quarter (25%) of homeowners with outside space have turned some of their garden into a driveway
-One in ten (10%) has replaced their garden’s natural lawn with artificial grass
-A
quarter (25%) of homeowners in the UK with outside space have turned
all or part of their garden into a driveway and a further 17% are
planning to make this change.
-One in ten (10%) homeowners with outside
space has replaced at least some of their garden’s natural lawn with
artificial grass and a further 29% plan to or would consider making the
swap. Asked why they’ve made these
changes, 31% said they didn’t want the upkeep of natural lawn or
gardening while 27% wanted to park their car off the road.
-One in eight (12%) respondents has replaced part or all of their garden
with a wildflower meadow and seven per cent (7%) have gone even further
by turning their driveways into a garden with plants and flowers.
-more than half (57%) of homeowners surveyed agreed making changes to
their outside space may affect the environment, 39% thought it was more
important to have off-road parking than consider any environmental
impacts.
Has anyone tried wood chippings in lieu of a plastic lawn? Would that work for children playing football etc?
Not sure that would be a hygienic alternative. With everyone's cat on the prowl, you'd end up with one giant cat convenience and I wouldn't let children play in that.
Oh, is it a cat-magnet?! I thought they used it in parks where children play, near swings and slides etc. Maybe that is something related but a bit different. The stuff I am thinking of is quite soft to land on and applied thickly to either soil or I guess, concrete.
Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus
I haven't seen plastic grass here but of the 10 houses in my street 7 have paved fronts. It's not just the UK. Some councils are beginning to look into this trend and are not giving permission to concrete or similar any part of the garden, but not where I live. Human beings need some control over their lives and paving green areas may be one. Gardening is a chore to many, plus they like to be welcomed by a"tidy" front where they can park the car.
On my morning dog walk, which passes a few hundred houses, only two have fake grass front gardens. These two houses had them done at the same time and I think they have become a warning to everyone in the area. I don't know how many houses there are with it in their back gardens though.
To me it's a sign of modern laziness to a degree. Our next door neighbours have hedges on two of their boundaries, which they cut twice a year (or get someone to do it for them) and they still complain how much time it takes, which is little more than a few hours a year. I would guess that they'd jump at fake grass. This is symptomatic of the current problems nature and our climate face. Most pretend they want to help and it's important but when it comes down to even tiny things that might impact them or cause a little work, that support goes out the window. It made me quite sad when I found out that plastic hedges were becoming a thing.
Of about 650 households in our neighbourhood I can think of six that have plastic grass out front (not directly replacing lawn). Most front gardens here are 2x2 metres or less, too small to be permitted off street parking/dropped kerb. The vast majority are paved, concreted or gravelled. About half the properties are owned by the council (houses and flats). Nearly all of those have hard surfaces out front (maybe 10% don't).
Less than 10% of our fronts have gardens with a bit of grass or flower beds. Lots have gone for a paving or gravel with a few pots.
The person I know, a few doors up, who has swapped out the back lawn for plastic grass did it because she has a dog and she didn't want the faff of mowing. Loads of the back gardens here (all pretty small) have been completely paved or tiled or concreted over. We are losing our large trees at a rapid rate of knots. Ease of care is definitely the priority, which I can understand.
A serious question, how much worse is artificial turf compared to natural grass? Yes artificial is plastic and manufactured from oil etc. Once made how long does it last/ how do you maintain it/ how do you dispose of it? Is it that bad in certain situations (replacing a small city centre concreted courtyard/ a play area for kids etc)? Compare this to my grass. Now please don’t judge me and I guess many others will be similar to me but I use a petrol mower maybe weekly for 6/8 months of the year using maybe 20 litres of petrol, I bought a plastic fuel can, I service the mower with new oil each year, I use an electric scarifier once a year, add a weed/feed once or twice a year (how is this chemical made, delivered to the shops, does it harm the biome etc). Yes, I could never mow my lawn, get a push mower, never feed it etc, I know it would be greener. I am not sure just how much greener I am, say over the 10 year life span of artificial grass (if it is fit and forget.)
It does need maintenance - especially if animals or birds relieve themselves on it. Leaves fall on it, dust accumulates enough for weeds to grow and some will poke through from underneath. Anything spilt on it by children or guests will stay there and rot.
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Human beings need some control over their lives and paving green areas may be one. Gardening is a chore to many, plus they like to be welcomed by a"tidy" front where they can park the car.
Luxembourg
To me it's a sign of modern laziness to a degree. Our next door neighbours have hedges on two of their boundaries, which they cut twice a year (or get someone to do it for them) and they still complain how much time it takes, which is little more than a few hours a year. I would guess that they'd jump at fake grass.
This is symptomatic of the current problems nature and our climate face. Most pretend they want to help and it's important but when it comes down to even tiny things that might impact them or cause a little work, that support goes out the window. It made me quite sad when I found out that plastic hedges were becoming a thing.
how much worse is artificial turf compared to natural grass? Yes artificial is plastic and manufactured from oil etc. Once made how long does it last/ how do you maintain it/ how do you dispose of it? Is it that bad in certain situations (replacing a small city centre concreted courtyard/ a play area for kids etc)?
Compare this to my grass. Now please don’t judge me and I guess many others will be similar to me but I use a petrol mower maybe weekly for 6/8 months of the year using maybe 20 litres of petrol, I bought a plastic fuel can, I service the mower with new oil each year, I use an electric scarifier once a year, add a weed/feed once or twice a year (how is this chemical made, delivered to the shops, does it harm the biome etc).
Yes, I could never mow my lawn, get a push mower, never feed it etc, I know it would be greener. I am not sure just how much greener I am, say over the 10 year life span of artificial grass (if it is fit and forget.)