Fake Grass

by E-NewsCast Team
March 20th, 2010

The history of artificial or fake grass is to say the least aninteresting one and arose out of the social desire to in-effectward off what could be seen, as far back as the 1950s, as anincreasingly unhealthy tendency by youngsters not to exercise. History has it that birth of synthetic grass began throughattempts by scientists trying to develop a type of grass thatwould not only allow children and adolescents to play onregardless of the weather condition but encouraged them to doso, in other words, a surface that they enjoyed using or a userfriendly surface. Hence the advent of fake or artificial grass. The result was one of the early prototypes of what we now knowto be fake or artificial grass. The earlier types were not onlyhard under foot and made for impracticality especially wheresports and children were concerned given the tendencies to fallbut were very unpopular. Conversely, however, in terms ofworkability and endurance this surface proved itself worthy,with the originally playing field where the fake grass surfacewas installed lasting twenty years of solid wear. Claims that in terms of practicalities due to poor drainage andits tendency to rot fake grass has limited applicability areunsubstantiated. Furthermore, highly contentious argumentsrevolving around the argument that artificial grass causes moreon-field injuries when used in sports-grounds is again unfoundedand may be derived from factions wanting to see this type ofsurfacing a thing of the past. The claim by the industry is thatif laid correctly no problems should occur. In fact, ifanything, this type of surface should encourage better drainageenabling competitive sports to continue play with lessinterruption time due to rain.Today the advances in artificial grass surfaces are enormous andcan’t be down-played. It is common practice to no longer useasphalt as an underlay beneath the surface of the grass whichhas increased the shock absorption provided by the grass,decreased the retention of heat during summer and furtherimproving the drainage ability of the grass. Finally andpossibly most importantly no longer does fake grass look, bothon and off T.V like the earlier versions of fake grass, that is,FAKE. Typically artificial grass is approximately 3cm thick (from baseto blade tip). The material of the ‘blades’ themselves are apolyethylene-polypropylene blend which are then woven into amat-like backing (much like that of carpet). The onlymaintenance that is recommended is that the surface be given aonce over each month, which involves rubbing it down. It youwere to get this done professionally it is estimated that itwould cost no more than a couple of thousand dollars a year.While this may initially sound a lot when compared to the watercosts alone for the real thing – there is virtually nocomparison. For those still sceptical and missing the smallthings associated with ‘real’ grass consider this. In America,consumers missing the smell associated with cut grass canpurchase, that is right, purchase a can whose contents promisethat ‘just cut smell’! But wait there is more……in addition, other requests by customershave included wanting to have the newly laid ‘fake’ lawn havethe same effect as when you just cut real grass and there arethe alternating light and dark bands of grass. This too can beachieved…..ah the marvels of modern society. Once perceived as being exclusively for those at the lower endof the socioeconomic scale, time-and resource-poor, fake grasshas now become the stable for all regards of income bracket.With everyone becoming increasingly time-limited and wantingimmediate results – ‘visual’ perfection – artificial grassanswers both these requirements. As already mentioned fake grass has many advantages being bothlow maintenance, cheap and providing reliable year-round goodlooks for those concerned with their gardens aestheticappearance. Especially in areas where water is particularlyscarce and or for areas whether there is heavy usage – i.e.constant foot traffic – then fake or artificial grass mayprovide a practical solution. What is more, with fake orartificial grass there is no limit to the amount of area youwish to cover and up-keep is negligible especially when comparedto the requirements of real grass. Golfing greens require theemploy of a number of full-time ‘green keepers’ whose job it isto solely look after the lawns!!!! For those without this luxuryin budget or time the alternative is clearly …….fake grass. Noneed for pesticides, watering, mowing, and replacing of deadpatches etcetera. While slow to catch on in many Westernized countries, Asiannations who are resource tight have long used fake grasses fortheir play-grounds, private lawns and commercial turfs.Furthermore, using fake grass removes the threat of degradationby human or other pests. The laying of fake grass is alsoimmediate – like that of carpet. Another advantage is that isdoes not have to be a permanent fixture but can be lifted at anytime.

Popularity: 2% [?]