The product environmental footprint approach to compare the environmental performances of artificial and natural turf

The aim of this paper is to test, for the first time, the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) approach in a comparative analysis of the environmental performance of a soccer field for 11 players made with natural turf and one made with artificial turf with used tyres as infill material. At the same way, for the first time, Data Quality Rating (DQR) was purposed as instrument for comparing the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) focused on the two football playgrounds. Along the life cycle, the construction phases of the field, its use and its maintenance were considered. While, as for the End-of-Life, the Circular Footprint Formula was adopted for evaluating the avoided impacts of material disposing. The research highlights, as concerning this latter aspect, how the improvement of recovery technologies is a crucial issue in making artificial turf a really sustainable alternative to natural turf. On the other hand, as for natural turf, the adoption of water- and energy-saving technologies combined with the search for less demanding herbaceous species must be the challenge of the future.

Automated summary

This study aims to compare the environmental performance of natural turf and artificial turf soccer fields using Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) approach and propose Data Quality Rating (DQR) as a tool for assessing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The study emphasizes the importance of improving recovery technologies for making artificial turf a sustainable alternative, while for natural turf, water- and energy-saving technologies and finding less demanding herbaceous species are the future challenges.