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Photo: Olive tree, Pixabay
Photo: PureField Ultra HD with ground olive stones, FC Kehlen / Luxembourg
FIELDTURF’S PUREFIELD ULTRA HD
INNOVATIVE ANSWER TO THE CHALLENGES OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND CLIMATE PROTECTION Author Photos Contact
Rolf Haas, info@sportsystemehaas.de FieldTurf Tarkett SAS, Pixabay Kai Weber-Gemmel, kai.weber-gemmel@tarkett.com
Artificial turf for sports surfaces has been established for decades on the strength of its excellent functional properties. Artificial turf is used for soccer, tennis, rugby and American football and on small playing surfaces; for top-class field hockey pitches, it is a mandatory for match play. Without artificial turf, it is impossible to play football and other sports all year round, independently of the weather. In addition, artificial turf can be used for much longer periods of time than natural turf and waterbound mineral surfaces. But how sustainable, eco-friendly and climate-friendly is artificial turf? Suppliers of artificial turf systems are faced with many questions: How can microplastic be prevented from being released into the environment? – How can petroleum-based raw material be replaced? – How can old artificial turf be reused? FieldTurf and yarn manufacturer Morton Extrusionstechnik have accepted these challenges – an initial answer is PureField Ultra HD. This innovative artificial turf consists of a dual-fibre construction with a crimped support yarn and a straight face yarn. PureField Ultra HD is filled with approximately 10 kg of sand and 2 kg of ground olive stones per square metre. Filled with ground olive stones Ground olive stones replace the conventional rubber granulate – so no microplastic can escape into the environment. In addition, olive stones consist of approximately 45 % carbon. This carbon is withdrawn from the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – olive stones are a natural carbon sink. Ground olive stones also have a functional advantage in that they do not compact. As a result, PureField Ultra HD delivers the optimum torque of over 40 Nm as specified by the standard, even when wet. Alternative raw material source for the fibres On the path to a climate-neutral artificial turf, the question arises as to how to replace the conventional, petroleum-based 66
raw material. One option is to use recycled plastic waste. In the process, the polyethylene used to manufacture the fibre will in future consist of up to 100 % recycled plastic waste if requested. Thus, the new training pitch of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim has been fitted with PureField Ultra HD and 100 % recycled plastic as the feedstock. Systems based on recycling are certified transparently. Independent auditors monitor the ISCC Plus certification (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification). An ISCC Plus sustainability statement shows the amount of plastic waste used to produce each pitch on the mass balance principle. Self-contained artificial turf cycle When end-of-life (EOL) artificial turf is replaced, it is recycled for reuse. At Morton Extrusionstechnik, the turf is mechanically recycled into agglomerate, which is used in the production of new artificial turf. This innovative process is in line with the European Green Deal‘s principles of efficient resource conservation. PureField Ultra HD delivers not only the same sports performance as conventional artificial turf systems and an increased, sustainable service life of 300,000 Lisport cycles. The climate and the environment are also protected with new approaches to production and disposal. sb 2/2022
