Artificial turf offers a number of benefits when compared to natural grass such as low maintenance and durability but there are also other benefits that are not immediately obvious to many of us. In this article, we’ll look at some of the prominent benefits artificial grass over natural grass.
Dwindling Resources
As the population of the World increases there is an ever growing pressure on the availability of many natural resources and water is of course arguably the most precious commodity of all, so any opportunity to harvest water should be considered irrespective of the country that you live in. There are already many places that have drought restrictions in place and efficient rainwater gathering is perfectly feasible after you have installed an artificial grass surface.
Not Affected by Hosepipe Bans and Restrictions
A natural lawn requires plenty of water to keep it alive and in good condition and with many localities experiencing restrictions and even complete bans on the use of water to maintain grass areas, fake grass will enable home owners and operators of public sports facilities to continue their enjoyment of the space around them without needing to use water that may not be available to them anyway.
Environmentally Friendly
It could be argued that fake grass could even benefit the environment despite its artificial nature. Many manicured real lawns are almost a “monoculture” that provide little for wildlife and can be costly for the environment due to the use of weed-killer, fertilizer and of course the amount of water used. The cost of maintaining a natural lawn can only increase as resources become scarcer and in the future a natural lawn may even become a symbol of decadence, so installing artificial turf is a statement that you are considering your environment as well as creating a good looking recreational area for you to enjoy.
Rainwater Harvesting
The term is used to describe the combined efforts of collecting water from wherever water runs around your property such as guttering and also water that runs off from your artificial lawn or fake grass if you prefer to call it that. There are a number of options and installations to consider but generally the most efficient and popular method is to install an underground tank where all the water is channelled to and stored in a large tank ready for subsequent recycling and further use rather than drawing on a fresh supply. The cost of collecting the rainwater is continuing to fall as new technology and increased popularity help to reduce the initial outlay required and installing a filtering system at the time of installing your new fake grass lawn will reap benefits in the long term.
As a general rule, the larger the tank you can install the more savings you are likely to make over a reasonable period of time and in many parts of the world there are sufficiently efficient filtering systems already available to create safe drinking water but you would obviously need to check local laws to see what uses are permitted for the rainwater that you have successfully harvested.
