In April 2024 the European Parliamentamong the urgent objectives to be pursued, has placed first place fight against microplastics (plastics with a diameter of , those that most escape physical containment and inevitably end up spilling uncontrolled into the environment).
In the official document the first example given to describe the microplastics to be banned are plastic or rubber infill on synthetic grass sports fields. This as a first step, while awaiting an analysis and a judgment also on the undeniable release of plastic microparticles (in the order of microns) deriving from the wear of the artificial grass filaments themselves, not just the infill, under the game action and weather events.
In Italy there are 24,139 football fields approved for football practice (data from the latest analysis officially released by the FIGC in 2021, in collaboration with AREL Agenzia di Ricerche e Legislazione and PwC Pricewaterhouse Coopers). Of these, 12,415 are registered and used in official competitions in the amateur world, of which 57% are on natural grass, 20% on synthetic grass and the remainder on clay or other material.
Assuming an average surface area affected (downward estimate) of 6000m2 per field, the national total in question amounts to 14,483.4 hectares (i.e. 144,834,000 m2) for those registered, of which 7,449 hectares for those registered in official competitions. In comparative terms, football pitches in Italy alone cover a surface area of approx. 4% of the entire wooded area of Trentino.
In order to reduce microplastic pollution, EU Regulation 2023/2055 prohibits, among other things, the placing on the market of infill material for use on synthetic grass sports surfaces as this material “represents the greatest contribution in terms of use of microplastics in products, as well as the main source of environmental emissions of synthetic polymer microparticles intentionally present at European level.” For such applications, the Commission has provided for a transitional period of 8 years before the entry into force of the ban (which will therefore apply from 17 October 2031), in order to ensure that existing sports surfaces using this product can reach at the end of their life before needing to be replaced.
Never before in Italy has there been pressure from sector operators on public administrations for the construction and design of artificial grass pitches, with an increase and speed unprecedented in the past.
In the Netherlands, on the other hand, the football federation has already started to remove the synthetic pitches and in Switzerland the city of Zurich has already had all the infills removed from the existing artificial surfaces…
To be approved for use and homologated, a synthetic grass pitch must follow one and only one design procedure (specifications of the LND Lega Nazionale Dilettanti, the only body responsible for homologation in Italy), including: mandatory irrigation system (the synthetic pitch must be irrigated to be able to be used in the warmer months and throughout the year to stabilize the materials), excavation of thousands of cubic meters of land and supply and execution of an aggregate container of increasing diameters, maintenance proven with invoices from specialized companies (the synthetic pitch must be maintained), periodic control of compliance with the parameters imposed in the design phase (three-year paid approval), etc. (Source National Amateur League).
In any case, wanting to avoid direct comparison with synthetic pitches (which, however, have never before become a financially unjustifiable solution with an anachronistic environmental impact), the objective of the project we would like to propose is convert existing and future football pitches into permanently green surfaces used for the capture and storage of carbon with a positive balance or at least tending towards carbon neutrality, throughout the entire life cycle. We are convinced that the best solution is to use macrothermal species thriving in the summer period (Cynodon spp.)alternated with entering microthermal species thriving in the autumn-winter period (Lolium perenne). A solution widely exploited by professional football, in almost all prestigious stadiums and sports facilities: Naples, Rome, Genoa, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Palermo, Bari, Padua, Ferrara, etc. etc. (and this is certainly not due to environmental sensitivity, but due to the excellent functional properties for play that these surfaces offer).
Now: the majority of “provincial fields” are already “fortunate” to be floristically composed of Cynodon spp. (the commune couch grass), unlike the stadiums where large companies had to invest to make it take root. The objective is therefore to develop a project, valid at a national level, aimed at facilitating its natural growth, to then be implemented with normal maintenance practices through the introduction of Lolium perenne.
The project embodies a multiplicity of virtuous factors, among which we remember:
- Neutral if not positive balance in carbon capture and storage
- Creation of natural green surfaces at significantly lower costs than synthetic ones (of the order of 1/8 at the time of creation, but with the further difference that the life cycle of a synthetic is at best 10 years, while a natural field once made is perennial)
- Low and programmable maintenance costs
- The creation, care and management of the surfaces would see the involvement of green businesses which can also be small to medium in size, with a positive impact on the economy and society of even smaller towns (on the other hand, synthetic implants can only be built and maintained by a few large national specialized companies)
- Irrigation watering would be part of the virtuous cycle of carbon capture and storage (the same cannot be said of the synthetic), with a further plus deriving from the presence of Cynodon spp. in the summer months, which would not be affected by any prefectural blocks due to water criticality (as in 2022 and 2023, for example), as it is capable of managing long periods of drought without succumbing.
- Increased social well-being thanks to carrying out physical activities on a natural grass surface
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