Glenelg to ban fake turf on verges

GREEN isn’t always green enough for one council — it’s banned the use of artificial turf on its verges, ruling the fake grass gets too hot in summer and is bad for the environment. TAKE OUR POLL

GREEN isn’t always green enough at Holdfast bay, where the council has banned the use of artificial turf on its verges because fake grass is bad for the environment.

Councillors have decided to ban fake turf as part of a new set of guidelines for homeowners who want to take responsibility for verges.

It will not affect residents who have already laid synthetic lawn, but will prevent its use on any verges in the future.

The move has been praised by street-tree expert David Lawry, who said the council was doing the right thing to help reduce urban heat.

“Instant turf looks okay, but of course it’s plastic and it gets hot,” said Mr Lawry, the director of Treenet, a non-profit organisation specialising in street-tree research.

“Instant turf contributes to urban heat because it absorbs heat and it will pass on heat into the root zone of street trees.

“The council verge is the most significant green space in the environment. There’s a lot of verge areas and more and more houses are built on small blocks.”

Mr Lawry said instant turf’s role in public spaces should be limited to traffic islands as “a fairly cheap paving option”.

Cr Mikki Bouchee told last month’s council meeting she had been turned off fake grass when researching options for her own verge.

“I ran into an arborist who told me ... in the summer months (synthetic) turf can increase the temperature around a tree from 20 to 25 degrees,” Cr Bouchee said.

She said some synthetic turf was made out of recycled plastics that could contain toxic chemicals.

“The information I received on the internet — thank God for Google — was in 2014.”

Cr Lynda Yates agreed, saying fake grass had “undesirable side effects” for the environment.

“The only thing you could say in its favour is that people don’t have to water and don’t have to mow their lawns,” Cr Yates said.

“I don’t like synthetic turf. I don’t think it should be put in anywhere.”

However, Cr Sam Charlick tried to reverse the decision at the meeting, saying it was based on “quackery” taken from the internet.

“Some of the debate about artificial turf was based on the ‘fact’ that it renders soil toxic,” Cr Charlick said.

“This is quackery and not based on sound scientific evidence when artificial turf is laid correctly with adequate drainage, which the original policy called for.”

He failed to get support to rescind the council’s decision and review the policy.

Somerton Park resident Wayne Dingle, who lives in a neighbourhood where synthetic grass is used, disagrees with the move.

“If a resident is going to take over care of the verge, it is their responsibility ... I don’t see a problem with fake grass,” he said.

“The council is being a bit cheeky with this rule, I think.”

Policies on landscaping on council verges vary across metropolitan Adelaide but synthetic lawn is allowed in most areas, with council approval.

Some restrictions do apply, in some council areas, on what is allowed to be placed on council verges.

For example, in Salisbury, plants with thorns or spines are prohibited, as are plants that grow taller than 500mm.