Efforts underway against synthetic turf in MoCo

[KPES Green Team]

Hi KP community! 

Many of us make choices everyday to reduce plastics in our daily lives, in our food, our packaging, our kids’ products etc. All that effort is wasted if we allow synthetic turf installation in Montgomery County. Right now, the County is on the verge of spending tens of millions of CIP dollars to install large-scale plastic fields at our public high schools, fields that shed microplastics directly into the air, soil, and watersheds our children play in and around every day. This affects all of us.

MCPS is seeking CIP budget funding to install synthetic turf fields at Poolesville, Magruder, Watkins Mill, and Springbrook High Schools, with plans for 8 more to follow. 

These fields are made of plastic carpet and infill that shed microplastics continuously into the air, soil, and local watersheds. Changing the infill from crumb rubber to coconut coir does not eliminate that problem.

Beyond pollution, these fields create dangerous heat islands, reaching 140-170°F on hot days, making them unusable and genuinely hazardous in summer. They also cost 3x more than a top-of-the-line grass field over their lifecycle, require million-dollar replacements every 8-10 years, and cannot be meaningfully recycled despite decades of industry claims otherwise.

High-performance natural grass is a proven, cost-effective alternative that other major institutions, including the Baltimore Ravens and multiple universities, have returned to after experiencing the problems of synthetic turf firsthand.

Two actions you can take to help with this cause:

1. Sign and send a letter to the County Council:

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/no-extra-funding-for-plastic-fields-mcps

2. Sign the Real Grass for Healthy Kids coalition letter led by the Montgomery County Council of PTAs: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd12J698-3Q0cDFevStoZToIcsrYJY27D2Ob7ErS0XCbAGcqA/viewform

Let me know if you have any questions! 

Mary 

Green Team