Essential Background
Cardigan Mountain School and Princeton University are both installing infill retention measures on their artificial turf fields, working together to strengthen the scientific findings and set new standards for the future of artificial turf.
Project Introduction: Pioneering Environmental Standards
In December 2022, Sportsfield Specialties agreed to install their newly designed infill retention measures on an exciting construction project involving the installation of a new third-generation artificial turf pitch at Cardigan Mountain School, located in the beautiful natural surroundings of western New Hampshire.
In addition to creating the best possible conditions for the local school's practice and play, the project—carried out in cooperation with the artificial turf community and through a test and development initiative—aims to demonstrate how to design, maintain, and use artificial turf pitches in an environmentally friendly way.
EU Standards and Compliance
The environmental impact of artificial turf pitches is currently being discussed in the EU, and one suggestion is to set an upper limit for the dispersal of microplastics from an artificial turf pitch to its surroundings at 0.00023 oz/ft²/year (7 g/m²/year). The new facility at Cardigan Mountain is designed according to the recommendations described in the new joint European guide for the construction of artificial turf pitches—CEN report (DS/CEN/TR 17519 – “Surfaces for sports areas – Synthetic turf sports facilities – Guidance on how to minimize infill dispersion into the environment”)—adapted by the Synthetic Turf Council in the US as the standard for designing and installing retention measures in particularly sensitive environments close to natural areas.
Test and Development Project at Cardigan Mountain
The purpose of the test and development project at Cardigan Mountain is to verify whether the recommendations described in the CEN report are sufficient to keep the spread of microplastics below the 0.00023 oz/ft²/year (7 g/m²/year) limit. This corresponds to a maximum of 50 kg per year for an 11-a-side football pitch. Another objective is to build on the experience gained from the test project finalized by Ecoloop in Kalmar, Sweden, in 2019 and the test conducted in Silkeborg, Denmark, in 2023 and 2024 at Silkeborgbanen—the artificial turf pitch of the future.
Expanding Research and Testing Across Borders
To create the best possible conditions for test and development projects involving fields with rubber granulate, the Swedish consultancy company Ecoloop prepared an operational working document in the spring of 2021, gathering the most recent experience and knowledge from the test project in Kalmar. The test and development work carried out in projects in Sweden, Denmark, Spain, and the Netherlands will be tested to prove its relevance and applicability in the US.
Setting New Standards for the Future
Beyond the purely football- and soccer-related aspects, the ambition behind the Cardigan Mountain project is to install a facility that sets the standard for environmentally friendly artificial turf pitches of the future—both in New Hampshire and across the US. We have therefore created this website, where anyone interested can follow the construction, use, and maintenance of the facility, as well as regularly analyze its environmental impact.
Collaborative Research with Princeton and Firefly Testing
In 2023, Princeton University became the second participant in testing infill retention measures on artificial turf fields in the US. Any polymeric infill material could potentially migrate into the surrounding sensitive environments, and they, therefore, wanted to participate in testing whether the designed retention measures were efficient enough to eliminate polymeric infill migration to the maximum possible extent.
To keep the results as neutral and comparable as possible, Firefly Sports Testing agreed to be a third-party neutral partner, delivering the test methods imported from various EU projects (for comparability) and performing the testing in New Hampshire. Firefly Sports Testing will provide Princeton with the standards for testing and oversee the results for verification and approval. Princeton plans to use internal staff and students to conduct scientific studies and verify the results, with Firefly as the external partner for support and guidance.