A Green and Plastic Land?

Having a 'pristine' lawn, seems to be something of a UK obsession. A survey by the Insurance Company, Aviva, found that 10% of UK homeowners, with outside space, had replaced at least some of it, with artificial grass. Artificial grass is marketed as an 'attractive', low maintenance alternative to the British lawn. Bizzarely, some companies even claim that artificial grass is a 'green' alternative. They argue it doesn't require feeding, cutting or disposal of organic waste (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/mar/29/it-would-survive-nuclear-armageddon-the-rise-and-fall-of-plastic-lawns). There are, however, actually no good reasons for using artificial grass. Firstly, it's largely made using recycled car tyres. Microplastics consequently leach into the environment. Other artificial grass emissions may even cause health issues. Secondly, it clearly exacerbates the impact of flash flooding by largely preventing the absorption of rainwater. Thirdly and rather obviously, artificial grass doesn't help counter climate change, by absorbing carbon dioxide. In deed, its manufacture, may actually increase emissions. Fourthly, and most importantly, artificial grass wrecks soil and supports zero wild life. The UK has seen dramatic declines in its insect life. The spread of this 'sterile' (except when dog faeces need to be removed) material seems to be largely a consequence of a lack of imagination and laziness. One can only hope that people will stop using artificial grass.