Toxic Waste as Soon as It Leaves the Field

Made of highly variable chemical formulations of mixed plastics, artificial turf eventually ends up in landfill, even if it's cut up and used for a few extra years while shedding microplastics. Verde Design, the Recreation & Park Department's longtime plastic field designer admitted artificial turf is not recycled at a Foothill-De Anza College meeting. Let's keep it real, there are no recycling plants for artificial turf in California, nor is there a market for the waste the industry generates.

Recycling Chain of Custody Documentation San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department Artificial Turf
	Installed	Replaced	Recycling Cost	Infill Recycling Outcome	Plastic Grass Recycling Outcome
Beach Chalet	2015
Crocker Amazon	2007/8	2023	$56,994	No documentation	No documentation
Apr-May, Jul-Aug 2023: 848 rolls driven to FieldTurf USA Regeneration Plant in Sherwood, OR to remove infill. 659 bags infill recovered
Franklin Square	2003	2016	$29,111	No documentation	Downcycled into fence posts
July 2016: 180 rolls driven to BAS Recycling in Moreno Valley, CA; infill removed in October. Oct. 2016: Rolls shipped to FieldTurf, Inc. in Calhoun, GA to "recycle turf into pellets for reuse"; note added to next document: “Could not recycle at FT plant” Dec. 2016: Rolls shipped to Malaysia; 52-day journey; 27,008 pounds
Garfield Square	2006	2017	$16,675	No documentation	Downcycled into fence posts
Feb. 2017: 47 rolls driven to BAS Recycling in Moreno Valley, CA March 2017: Rolls shipped to Malaysia; 45 days in transit; 16,865 pounds
Kimbell	2010	2025
April 2025: 438 rolls driven to Sherwood, OR
Margaret Hayward	2020
Minnie & Lovie Ward	2012	2026	$308,100
Replacement in progress
Mission Playground	2012	2021		No documentation	No documentation
Sept. 2020: 116,000 pounds of sand and rubber received by TurfCycle* storage facility Woodland, CA
Mission Recreation	2003	2021		No documentation	No documentation
Silver Terrace	2006	2020		No documentation	No documentation
Aug. 2019: 450 Super Sacs of sand and rubber received by TurfCycle* storage facility Woodland, CA
South Sunset	2008	2021		No documentation	No documentation
Youngblood Coleman	2003	2020/21		No documentation	No documentation
Jan. 2020: 240 Super Sacs of sand and rubber received by TurfCycle* storage facility Woodland, CA
*TurfCycle lists "example uses": artificial grass installation materials, horse arenas, round pens, equestrian facilities, tire recycling manufacturing applications; driveways, pathways, wall backfilling, etc.