At this moment, Philadelphia is installing plastic turf fields at rec centers and parks across the city. In FDR it plans to rip out the current fields around the lake and replace them with all plastic fields where the Meadows were clearcut.

They claim plastic turf is safe to play on, environmentally harmless, and cheaper to maintain.  

All evidence points to the opposite: plastic turf is toxic to our kids, more dangerous for them to play on, as expensive as properly maintaining natural grass fields, and awful for the environment.

As the parent of a ten year-old who is thrilled to start his third year playing in the Philadelphia Dragons baseball league, I appreciate that many of us want our kids to play more ball but this is NOT the way to get there. 

Here are the FACTS:

What plastic fields mean for athletes: 

--More injuries: joint (esp. ACL/PCL), concussion, and turf burn
--More toxic exposure from dozens of known dangerous toxins
--More heat-related illness and even death (fields can get 60 degrees hotter than ambient temperatures)

In other words, there is a reason professional athletes do not want to play on turf fields (and they don't)!

What artificial turf means for the community and environment:

--Increases heat island effect in neighboring areas
--Microplastic and toxic chemical contamination of soil & water
--Volume of waste: Burden on landfills (these turf fields are rolled up and tossed every 10 years); unrecyclable; high cost for hauling & tipping fees at legal facilities
--Contribution to climate crisis: Plastic turf is derived from fossil fuels; replaces cooling, carbon-sequestering living soil and grass with a heat island; requires perpetual replacement and disposal; is unrecyclable in the U.S.; off-gasses greenhouse gas such as methane (CH₄) and ethylene (C₂H₄) from polyethylene materials. 

Here are links to just a few articles about health and environmental dangers of plastic turf:

The Guardian "Athletes Likely to Have Higher Levels of PFAS after Play on Artificial Turf"

Washington Post "Why One Epidemiologist Won't Let His Kids Play on Artificial Turf Fields"

Boston Globe "Toxic Chemicals are Found in Blades of Artificial Turf"

Philadelphia Inquirer "Risky Play: A stew of toxic chemicals lurks in artificial turf. Some experts worry they could be linked to cancer in young athletes." and "City officials believed a new South Philly turf field was PFAS-free. Not true, experts say."

**Please sign this petition to keep our playing fields natural and safe!**