Frequently asked questions

Sport fields include rectangular fields (for soccer, football, rugby, ultimate, etc.), ball diamonds, and cricket pitches. They can have grass or synthetic turf; they can also be all-weather (gravel) surfaces. Sports fields in Vancouver are provided at parks of various sizes, school sites, and community park areas. The focus of this Strategy is on sport fields within Vancouver’s parks.

The development of the Sport Field Strategy included a literature review of the environmental and human health impacts of synthetic and natural field surface options. Our full report will be made available shortly before the full strategy is presented to the elected Park Board for decision. Here are some key findings from the research:

  Human Health

• Well maintained and properly constructed natural grass and synthetic turf fields both provide safe surfaces for sport. There is no conclusive research to support that one surface is safer than the other.
• Vancouver Coastal Health’s position on synthetic turf is that “serious health risks, including cancer, are not increased from playing on synthetic turf fields with crumb rubber infill” and “there is no public health reason for discontinuing the use of synthetic turf.” 
• To read the full letter from Vancouver Coastal Health on synthetic turf fields, please click here. 

Environment

• Synthetic turf generates microplastics (tiny plastic particles) that can migrate. However, the migration of these microplastics can be significantly mitigated through capture systems and maintenance best practices.
• Both synthetic turf and natural grass sport fields are net producers of greenhouse gases. The majority of emissions from synthetic turf are related to production and disposal. The majority of natural surface field emissions are from maintenance and upkeep (e.g. mowing, fertilizing, etc.).
• Natural grass surfaces require a significant amount of water for irrigation. Both natural grass and synthetic turf fields require stormwater management measures to meet Vancouver’s runoff quantity and quality requirements. These measures help prevent microplastics, fertilizers, and other potentially harmful liquids from entering the stormwater system.
• While synthetic turf fields provide no biodiversity value, natural grass sports fields are a highly maintained mono-culture providing poor biodiversity relative to other planted landscapes.

Field Usage

• A synthetic turf field can accommodate approximately four times the usage of a natural surface field, as there is no need to limit use in order to preserve field quality. This presents an opportunity to reduce the footprint taken up by sport fields and provide more space for other park uses.

Below are some key references our team used when building our Environmental and Human Health literature review report. These are publicly available online. Our full report will be made available shortly before the full strategy is presented to the elected Park Board for decision. 

These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. The Park Board bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.

•            Bertling, Jürgen; Dresen, Boris; Bertling, Ralf; Aryan, Venkat; Weber, Torsten (2021) Artificial turf pitches – System analysis for Switzerland and Germany taking into account microplastic and greenhouse gas emissions, recycling, locations and standards, costs, and player opinions, Oberhausen, Fraunhofer UMSICHT

•            Jastifer, J.R., McNitt, A.S., Mack, C.D., Kent, R.W., McCullough, K.A., Coughlin, M.J., and R.B. Anderson (2018). Synthetic Turf: History, Design, Maintenance, and Athlete Safety, Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach

•            Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). Safety Study of Artificial Turf Containing Crumb Rubber Infill Made from Recycled Tires: Measurements of Chemicals and Particulates in the Air, Bacteria in the Turf, and Skin Abrasions Caused by Contact with the Surface, report prepared for the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), Publication DRRR-2010-009, October. Note: this document can be accessed by clicking the 'Request Document' button and filling out the form. There may be a delay before you receive the document.

•            Valeriani, F. Margarucci, L.M., Gianfranceschi, G., Ciccarelli, A., Tajani, F., Nucci, N., Ripani, M., and V.R. Spica (2019). Artificial-turf Surfaces for Sport and Recreational Activities: Microbiota Analysis and 16S Sequencing Signature of Synthetic vs. Natural Soccer Fields, Heliyon 5(8):1-9.

The purpose of this survey is to get your feedback on the "big moves."  These big moves include proposed changes to both specific fields and the system as a whole. Feedback from this engagement will help shape the final strategy.