Plastic grass is polluting and highly problematic for health. It would undermine and trash the heritage value of Callan Park. Such fields also exclude cricketers and dog walkers. It ends up in land fill relatively quickly. The good news is that there is an alternative to plastic grass that benefits ALL sports and users. It’s important you have your say …
The push for plastic grass turf at Callan Park is back. A proposal is being floated to convert both Waterfront Oval and Balmain Road Oval from natural turf to plastic grass. Both these fields are part of the historic asylum and psychiatric hospital established in the 1880s and shared with all the community for decades.
Actual designs and plans have not been revealed but we know that plastic-grass fields are encased in concrete and commonly fenced. Council has suggested they will be sunken below ground level, apparently to minimise run-off. The cost has been estimated at $8 million – before the inevitable blow-outs.
Concern over a shortage of playing fields is understandable. The Inner West has one of the lowest ratios of open space per resident in the state.
But the better solution is improved care and management of ALL our natural grass fields. This benefits ALL users and ALL sports – and would unite rather than divide the community. This approach has proved successful at Mosman Council ovals.
Plastic grass is being sold as a solution to wet weather impacts. It’s not. The proponents of plastic grass prefer the euphemism ‘all-weather surfaces’ but that’s grossly misleading. Kids cannot play on these surfaces in pouring rain and such weather is known to wash away the cork or rubber infill used on them, rendering them unplayable (See the photo of the Tempe field on the previous post).
Ultimately it won’t be a Council decision alone as they only lease the fields. It will need a Development Application. The Greater Sydney Parklands Trust, which owns and administers Callan Park, has to agree to any conversion plans. And because Callan Park is on the State Heritage Register, the Heritage Council would also have to approve any such development before it can proceed.
This complicated process gives the community a chance to determine the result. This is as it should be. Callan Park has been recognised by Greater Sydney Parklands as one of the 5 iconic parklands across Sydney. This is clear recognition of the unique 1870s parkland and historic buildings and spectacular setting. A plastic grass field, possibly fenced in and below ground level, would be in clear contradiction to the heritage nature of this landscape.
Let’s be clear about the downsides
of plastic grass fields:
Plastic grass degrades the natural environment – installing them involves sterilising their footprint, thereby reducing habitat and replacing the natural carbon-converting grass.
Plastic grass causes micro-plastic pollution: the plastic blades shed aproximately 3mm in length every year. This pollutes the air and water and there is increasing concerns about the impact of micro-plastics on human health. Just when we are turning the tide against plastics use, this will reverse the trend.
Plastic grass uses ‘forever chemicals’: the plastics used in these fields are frequently coated and treated with PFAS, commonly known as ‘forever chemicals’. (PFAS are per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of some 15,000 chemicals which don’t break down naturally but are used for resisting heat, stains, grease and water.) PFAS are now the subject of urgent research as to their possible connection with life-threatening diseases. As governments now acknowledge, it’s best to follow the precautionary principle until we know for certain the effects of such chemicals.
Plastic grass restricts use and access: Cricketers who have played on Waterfront Oval for more than a century would be excluded. Both targeted ovals are also part of the off-leash area for dogs – they would now be banned.
Plastic grass increases the risk of injuries: Because of the unyielding nature of such surfaces the incidence of injuries such as ACL is increased. Significantly there is no push for these synthetic fields from elite sports.
Plastic grass ends up in landfill: at the end of their short life-span these fields are not recycled, they go to landfill.
Plastic grass gets very hot: So hot in fact, that Sebastian Pfautsch, an associate professor in urban management and planning at Western Sydney University, warns the surface can give young children “second or third-degree burns”. “This material on a sunny day, with let’s say 30 degrees Celsius in the sun unshaded, will be about 80 to 90 degrees hot,” he says.
Plastic grass compromises heritage: Callan Park is one of Sydney’s iconic parks and listed on the State Heritage Register. Both Waterfront and Balmain Road ovals are in prime positions in the historic landscape. Fenced fields of plastic grass are inconsistent with such a landscape and would undermine the heritage value of the site.
There is a practical, natural alternative
Experience at other Councils has proved that the better design and maintenance of natural turf fields can significantly increase their hours of usage and ability to withstand rainy weather. Mosman Council – with the support of the NSW Environmental Protection Agency, Sydney Water, Mosman Swans and Mosman Football Club – have successfully adopted this strategy.The Natural Turf Alliance has more information – see https://naturalturfalliance.org/
The great advantage of investing in this natural turf alternative is that it can be applied to ALL ovals and lead to increase usage for ALL sports and users.
Callan Park is too important to be left to politicians. As always, Friends of Callan Park encourage you to have your say on the future of our unique heritage parkland – Hall Greenland & Cynthia Nadai for Friends of Callan Park
But how practical is it, actually, to invest in a product whose environmental impacts include water contamination, biodiversity loss, canopy loss, soil death and intensified urban heat? And all this in the face of climate change!
Elizabeth Farrelly
What you can do
- Come to the next meeting of Friends of Callan Park
Writing NSW in Callan Park
6.30pm Monday 12 August 2024
All welcome
We have invited the lead candidates for Balmain Ward - Attend the August meeting of the Inner West Council
6.30pm, Tuesday 13 August 2024
Ashfield Civic Centre, 6th Floor
Liverpool Road, Ashfield
The plastic grass fields are on the agenda
3 Email your Councillors with your views
Kobi Shetty kobi.shetty@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
John Stamolis john@johnstamolis.com.au
Darcy Byrne darcy.byrne@innerwest.nsw.gov.au
- Email the Greater Sydney Parklands (GSP)
callanpark@gsp.nsw.gov.au
Let them know that you do not want plastic grass at Callan Park