A global debate has become a hot-button issue for voters in some local areas as they, and millions of others across NSW, prepare to cast their ballots in the state’s local government elections.
More than 1.1 million people have already voted, but many more will head out on Saturday to have their say on who should represent their wards.
Fixing roads, keeping rates low, and keeping a lid on over-development are among the popular issues council hopefuls have chosen to campaign on.
But in a number of areas, one fake, green thing — synthetic turf — is a key factor in constituents’ voting decision-making.
There’s been a six-fold increase in the artificial alternative to suburban grass sports fields in the past five years — with more than 181 fields currently in the state — as sports clubs celebrate its “resilience”.
However, others are critical.
Residents in several Sydney local government areas, including the Inner West Council, are vocally opposing synthetic grass. Source: Supplied / Hall Greenland
Residents upset over proposed synthetic fields
The Fred Caterson Reserve in the Hills Shire Council in Sydney’s north-west is home to glossy black cockatoos, powerful owls and platypuses. It also allows bushwalkers to explore some of Sydney’s last-remaining Turpentine-Ironbark Forest.
There are several sporting facilities in the reserve, including football and cricket fields, a basketball stadium and a baseball field.
But a council proposal to build a “premier rugby union facility” featuring synthetic turf, on the site of a former pony club at the reserve, has drawn the ire of some locals.
The facility is expected to feature a grandstand, clubhouse, and broadcast lighting, as outlined in the 2020 master plan.
Greens councillor Dr Mila Kasby said: “The community feels this is all progressing behind closed doors, in the darkness, without knowing what to expect.”
Kasby fears the environmental impact will be significant, with severe biodiversity loss.
Sports coach and longtime resident Brendan Meller said he would take his frustration to the ballot box on Saturday.
“If a council is not listening to the community, then I don’t want them representing us,” Meller said.
A Hills Shire Council media spokesperson said it has no plans for synthetic fields.
But it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Eastwood District Rugby Union Football Club to “potentially further embellish these fields to a higher standard in the future”.
This may include the development of “two synthetic fields” according to the football club’s publicly available plans.
Greens councillor Mila Kasby tabled a petition against the Fred Caterson development which collected 16,000 signatures from both within and outside the electorate. Source: Supplied / Mila Kasby
The MOU with Eastwood Rugby and environmental impact reports were not released by the council until the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal ordered their release in proceedings initiated by a local wildlife carer last December.
The documents indicate an estimated 350 trees — 271 of which are protected, will be cleared for the development.
Norman Griffiths ‘nightmare’
While some residents attempt to intercept developments before they happen, others are dealing with the fallout.
Former bushcare coordinator for Ku-ring-gai Council, Bronwen Hanna — who resigned in protest over plans to replace grass with synthetic turf — is among them.
“It’s a land grab of public assets,” she said.
The Norman Griffiths development was initially rejected by the council for a synthetic oval after flood experts deemed the site unsuitable. Source: Supplied / Jill Green
Hanna is a member of Friends of Lane Cove National Park, a group that conducts bush regeneration work and brought an unsuccessful legal challenge against the conversion of Norman Griffiths Oval into a synthetic field.
After record rainfall in April flooded the site and asbestos was found, the development is expected to cost much more than originally expected.
The council estimates it will now cost upwards of $5 million instead of $3.2 million.
“It’s costing five times more than the sports ground surface at the CommBank Stadium, but the ratepayers are paying for the variations,” Hanna said.
The public record shows third parties offered council grants of almost $1 million for construction, but it was conditional on the field being synthetic.
After the Norman Griffiths Oval project caused sediment to run into a creek in Lane Cove National Park, the NSW Environment Protection Authority ordered Ku-ring-gai Council to clean up the pollution. Credit: Bronwen Hanna
Synthetic industry not ‘the demons’
The issue of synthetic turf is being debated globally.
The European Union has banned rubber crumb infill due to concerns about microplastics ending up in waterways, giving the industry eight years to switch to alternatives such as cork and wood products.
A report prepared by NSW chief scientist and engineer Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte last year measured the environmental cost.
Despite acknowledging several “knowledge gaps”, Durrant-Whyte found that synthetic fields can modify micro-climates by contributing to urban heat, adversely impact soil health, and increase flood and fire risks in vulnerable areas.
While he stopped short of recommending a moratorium for rubber crumb, the synthetic turf industry is preparing for potential changes.
Rubber crumb accumulated in gutters at Bernie Mullaine field in Kellyville following rain. Source: Supplied / Mick Battam
Jarrod Hill, managing director and CEO of SportEng, an engineering company that designs sports facilities, said the switch from rubber infill fields is only a matter of time.
“I would imagine in next 12 to 18 months there won’t be any more rubber infill fields being delivered,” he said.
“To allay those fears, we’re taking rubber out of the conversation and replacing it with organic infill like cork.”
While acknowledging the environmental cost and other disadvantages, such as heat retention, Hill said there is a place for synthetic turf in Australia.
“Are synthetic the demons? I think it’s just misunderstood is probably the best way to describe it.
“I’d hate to see a place where all sports grounds are synthetic, and my preference is always natural turf.
“But as long as we keep densifying our communities, then there’s a need for synthetic.”
