At a public meeting Wednesday night at South Portland (Maine) High School, attendees were split on whether new athletic fields at the school should be covered with natural grass or synthetic turf.
During the nearly four-hour meeting, parents, residents, city employees and industry representatives debated the virtues of synthetic turf. As reported by the Portland Press Herald, supporters said synthetic turf allows for more play time and lower maintenance costs, while opponents said the product contributes to plastic pollution and increased injuries, and can contain toxic chemicals.
South Portland put a $12.3 million bond referendum out to voters in November, which would have funded an athletic complex project, including upgrades to the track, a new concessions stand, bathrooms and, most controversially, a turf field. But the bond lost by a vote of 8,199 to 6,394.
Wednesday night’s meeting was the first in a series of workshops about how to design and fund a new athletic complex, culminating in a potential board vote scheduled for Feb. 10.
"The meeting was at times contentious, as some board members demanded a stronger environmental and health perspective from some presenters," Riley Board of the Press Herald wrote. "However, speakers on both sides continued to affirm their commitment to improving athletic facilities for South Portland students."
Additional workshops on the issue are scheduled for Jan. 13 and 27.
As reported by Board, South Portland’s football field and track were built in 1965. The field has an uneven slant, weed growth and patchy areas, according to Rick Perruzzi, who manages high school and other outdoor athletic facilities for the city, and South Portland Schools athletic director Todd Livingston, who spoke at Wednesday’s meeting.
Perruzzi and Livingston both said that when teams play on natural grass, inclement weather frequently leads to the cancellation of games, and the field also needs time to recover after heavy rain.
“Whether it’s a practice or a contest, obviously, if you have a synthetic surface, you can still practice on them, even in inclement weather,” Livingston said.
He also said additional teams would be able to practice at the high school if there was a synthetic field.
Environmentalists say the additional playability doesn’t outweigh the individual health risks, or broader environmental impacts, of synthetic turf.
Sarah Woodbury, vice president of policy and advocacy at Portland nonprofit Defend Our Health, made her pitch Wednesday that synthetic turf can contain toxic chemicals like PFAS, so-called “forever chemicals” that can cause cancer, and slough off microplastics into waterways. She also said synthetic fields get substantially hotter than natural grass, and are correlated with higher injury rates.
“If I had kids of my own, I wouldn’t let them anywhere near artificial turf,” she said. “The longer playing times are just not a benefit in terms of possible cancer down the road. That is not a choice I’m willing to make.”
Per Board's reporting, a Maine ban on all artificial turf that contains PFAS will go into effect in 2029, and Woodbury said her organization will introduce a measure in the Legislature this session that would institute a three-year ban on all synthetic turf.
Public comment also skewed against synthetic turf.
“I don’t believe these advantages outweigh the travesty of creating enormous amounts of plastic waste in the near future to be dumped or carted across the country for expensive recycling, and then replaced again and again and again,” said Amy Haskins, a parent of two students involved in athletics and the marching band. “Our society is moving in the right direction. There’s a reason we’re banning plastic bags and plastic straws. In this light, it makes no sense to install acres of plastic fields.”
Two industry representatives, including Lauren Doneski from Geosurfaces, a turf company the district has consulted, said new technology allows synthetic turf to be completely recycled, thanks to a special program with a facility in Louisiana. She also disputed the claim that the turf South Portland is considering contains PFAS.
Others argued that while recycling might be possible, it’s still the most expensive option, and pointed out that the Louisiana facility is part of a trend of toxic chemicals being shipped out of Maine for processing in poor areas, Board reported.
