Sustainable Plastics - October 2021 - 22

scientists talk
Synthetic turf is
the key to COVID-19
economic recovery
Synthetic
turf waste at
Sportex.
lon fibres. These pitches are
filled with sand along with a soft
cushion layer under the turf.
3rd generation (3G)- The introduction
of polyethene (PE) fibres
provides a soft, grass-like texture.
The infill material consists of
sand and rubber, which improves
the traction, impact safety and
softness of these pitches. It also
allows the synthetic pitches to
have a taller pile height so users
can have a more authentic experience
of real grass.
Sustainability is not a typical start of the conversation
when we talk about football, rugby or even hockey; but it
should be. An estimated 1.5 million m2 (5000 tonnes) of
synthetic plastic turf goes to landfi ll in the UK annually.
Yet while the sports pitches may have reached the end
of their service life, the material has not. Typically, made
from polyethylene or polypropylene, these are valuable
resources that should not go to waste. By Polly Wong
L
ike many businesses,
both the Sportex
Group (formerly
known as Ecosse
Sports) and Impact Solutions
were aff ected by the 4-month
total industry shutdown during
the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sportex is one of the
UK's largest sports surfacing
contractors, providing surface
installation, maintenance, and
recovery of materials from synthetic
turf. Impact Solutions
are a UKAS accredited testing
laboratory and innovation
centre with extensive industry
knowledge in the plastics and
recycling sector. Determined to
recover sustainably and economically
from COVID-19 and
seeking to contribute towards
the circular economy, Sportex,
Impact solutions, and the Polymer
Processing Research Centre
of Queen's University Belfast
proactively established a project
consortium to convert the waste
plastics of synthetic turf into us22
October
2021
able products, the first of which
are hockey goal backboards.
These hockey goal backboards
demonstrate the feasibility of a
technology that could lead to
endless applications - even beyond
the sports industry.
The problem
Until recently, there has been
no end-of-life solution for synthetic
turf waste due to a few
key factors:
* No incentives for businesses
to develop such a solution,
nor is there legislation to enforce
this
* Challenging material handling
processes
* Uncertainty surrounding
material cleanliness, lack of
contamination and quality
* Apathetic attitude based on
the desire to believe that it is
someone else's problem.
Frankly, these are common dilemmas
in the recycling industry.
Moreover, there are diff erent
The opportunity
During 2020 Innovate UK
launched a £10 million fund for
individual or collaborative R&D
projects focusing on sustainable
economic recovery from
COVID-19. This fund catalysed
the collaboration between the
Sportex Group, Impact Solutions,
and the Polymer Processing
Research Centre (PPRC) at
Queen's University Belfast to develop
an end-of-life solution for
the problem of the accumulating
waste from synthetic pitches.
In October 2020, this small but
ambitious project consortium
launched its mission and kickstarted
the new project entitled
'Pitch2Panel' (P2P).
The aims of P2P are simple:
1. Improve the recycling process
for synthetic turf
2. Create a usable product -
pitch siding panels and hockey
goal backboards
3. Validate the product to
show its compatibility with current
state-of-art
During the project, Sportex
Polly Wong
generations of synthetic turf:
1st generation (1G) - These
are nylon-based pitches that
date back to the 1960s. The nylon
fibres are abrasive and relatively
hard because the turfs are
glued onto concrete or asphalt
with a soft cushion layer beneath
the turf. Currently, there
are few 1G pitches left, and so
they are not recycled.
2nd generation (2G)- Made
purely from polypropylene (PP),
which is less abrasive than nyprovided
their expertise on influencing
factors such as industry
requirements and route to
market, and more importantly
controlled the collection and
initial separation of the waste
feedstock from the turf. Meanwhile,
Impact solutions and
the PPRC, a dedicated polymer
processing research centre with
specialised, highly experienced
engineers focused on research
and development of recycling
processes. Impact Solutions
have a proven track record in
the development of disruptive
plastic recycling technologies.
Their combined eff orts within
the scope of the P2P project
were aimed at delivering quality
recycled products for future
commercialisation.
Sustainable Plastics - October 2021

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