Recycled Turf Means the Grass Is Greener for Some

, the Teamsters Joint Council 13 and St. Louis Green are partnering to help used artificial turf from WUSTL’s Francis Field find a new life in playgrounds, parks and more throughout the region.

The turf was removed from Francis Field May 22 and stored in rolls on the side of the field. At 8 a.m. this Saturday, the Teamsters will come to pick up the rolls of turf, which will be loaded onto trucks for distribution to organizations across the region.

Municipalities, schools and organizations receiving the turf include Normandy High School, Roxana School District, 24:1 Initiative, Macon Baseball Association, and the cities of Northwoods, Pine Lawn, Vinita Park and Wellston.

The Francis Field turf was installed in 2004 but was approaching the end of its useful life as an NCAA Division III competitive playing field surface. It is still safe to use in batting cages, dugouts, playgrounds, dog parks and more.

“We had a great opportunity to work with Washington University and St. Louis Green to keep a large amount of artificial turf out of a landfill and help provide artificial turf to areas of St. Louis that need it but might not otherwise have access to it,” said Roy Gillespie, special events coordinator for Teamsters Joint Council 13. “We are pleased to work with Washington University on this project.”

“Many people have thought of reusing turf,” said Ryan Lynch, project manager in WUSTL Facilities. “The problem is the logistics of finding those who need and want the turf, transporting it, reinstallation, etc. The Teamsters have been instrumental with their network of charitable organizations and ability to provide transportation of the material.”

When the university removed the old turf it was left with the decision of what to do with the 1 million pounds of used turf. As used turf is not easily recycled, the simple option was dumping it into a landfill.

Members of Washington University’s facilities office — including Lynch and Matt Conlon, capital projects manager — reached out to Phil Valko, WUSTL director of sustainability, to help find a solution that was more environmentally friendly.

Sending the turf to a landfill didn’t fit the university’s strategic sustainability goals to reduce campus landfill waste, Valko said. In fact, it would have increased the university’s annual solid waste for the Danforth Campus by 15 percent.

The best option was to find ways to reuse the turf in places such as batting cages, field dugouts and dog parks, where natural grass often can’t grow well due to large amounts of foot traffic.

To help find organizations that might be able to reuse the turf, Valko called St. Louis Green’s Cindy Breth, director of community development, who put the university in contact with the Teamsters.

Installation of new turf began earlier this month. 

Information from Jessica Daues, Washington University.