Envirofill Turf Infill: The King of Reusability

Reduce, REUSE, recycle (your synthetic turf infill)

Remember the 3-R’s? There’s a reason they’re in a particular order. It’s an order of importance. If we want to lower our carbon footprint, we should first look at how to reduce our consumption. Reducing decreases the need to deal with waste. Once we’ve reduced, then we should look to reuse thereby reducing the need for new resources. Finally, once we’ve exhausted the first two, we should look to recycle.

When it comes to artificial turf infill, Envirofill is the King of REUSABILITY

For starters, the synthetic turf infill profile is simple. It’s 100% Envirofill. No mixing, no ratios. Just one product installed throughout the entire profile of your synthetic turf system. This simple approach provides consistency across the entire field. All other infill systems use a combination of sand mixed or layered with the performance turf infill. This creates a big challenge in terms of maintaining consistent ratios across the entire surface on day 1 and over the life of the field. It also makes it very, very difficult, if not impossible, to extract and reinstall the artificial turf infill for the second lifecycle of your field with any degree of confidence because once the sand and performance turf infill are mixed, they stay mixed. Envirofill, on the other hand, is made for reuse for at least two lifecycles and reinstallation is a clean and effective process.

Envirofill is an extremely durable product. Each grain is coated in acrylic that’s similar to the coating used to treat building exteriors. It has an expected lifespan of several decades. In fact, Envirofill samples taken from athletic turf fields installed in 2005 don’t show any noticeable degradation of the coating 15 years later. Motz has a 16-year warranty on Envirofill and we’re confident that it will last for at least two turf lifecycles.

The impact of reusing Envirofill is significant. Now, more than ever, field owners are concerned about their turf systems and where components of their fields go after they wear out. Within our recommended system, both the pad and Envirofill last multiple lifecycles. And once Envirofill is extracted from the field, the turf can easily be recycled. This approach saves significant resources, reduces trucking, and promotes responsible downstream handling of all components

Watch the video below to learn more about reusing Envirofill in your synthetic turf athletic field. 

Case in point: Tatum High School’s athletic fields in Tatum, Texas

Tatum High School was a trailblazer in 2005 when they selected Envirofill and a recycled foam pad from Schmitz for their synthetic turf system. In 2013, the school was ready to replace their turf and elected to reuse both Envirofill and the pad, in turn saving a significant amount of money and saving over 250 tons of materials from going into the waste stream. You can read more about it here.

Reusing their artificial turf infill and pad made good sense, but what could field owners and athletes expect as far as their field’s performance in its second lifecycle with reinstalled Envirofill? We tested the fields in December 2019, (14 years after they were originally installed the first time,) to find out. 

The results are right in line with a high performance natural grass field, which is especially impressive considering the field was six years past installation when it was tested. And based on the condition of the Envirofill, we can say that reusing it for a third lifecycle is not out of the question. The field looks great, feels great and performs great. The Envirofill depth across the field was within 1mm.

To learn more about Envirofill’s reusability, contact our sales team today, they would be happy to answer any questions you may have.