Removal, Recovery, Reuse and Recycling of Synthetic Turf ... · Crumb Rubber Inill Proile Crumb Rubber is derived from scrap auto and truck tires that are ground up and recycled.

www.SyntheticTurfCouncil.org

Removal,Recovery,ReuseandRecyclingofSyntheticTurfandItsSystemComponents


Removal,Recovery,ReuseandRecyclingofSyntheticTurfandItsSystemComponents

PrintedJanuary2013

RevisedJuly2015

Copyright©2015bytheSyntheticTurfCouncil

400GalleriaParkway,Suite1500

Atlanta,GA30339

Nopartofthisdocumentmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic ormechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage orretrieval systemnowknownor to be invented,without permission inwriting from theSyntheticTurfCouncil,exceptbyareviewerwhowishestoquotebriefpassagesinare-view written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper or broadcast. The Synthetic TurfCouncilisanon-pro it,educationalorganizationandpossessesallrightspertainingtothispublication.


TableofContentsSyntheticTurfEndofLife

Introduction 1

ConvertingSyntheticTurftoaRecyclableMaterial 2

KeepingSyntheticTurfoutoftheLand ill 3

EndofLife—SyntheticTurfMaterialFlowOverview 4

SummaryofReclamationOptions 5

SyntheticTurf

Pro ile 6

Removal 6

ReuseandRecycling,EnergyRecovery,ExtendedLifeCycle 7

CrumbRubberIn ill

Pro ile 8

ReuseandRecycling,EnergyRecovery,ExtendedLifeCycle 8

In illsOtherThanCrumbRubber

EPDMandTPE 10

OrganicIn ill 10

PureSilicaSand 10

CoatedSilicaSand 10

CoatedCrumbRubber 11

Underlayments

ShockPads 12

ElasticLayersorE-Layers 12

IntegratedDrainageandShockPadUnderlayments 12

DrainageMatsandStripDrains 13

ReuseandRecyclingSuccesses 14

LookingAhead 14

AbouttheSyntheticTurfCouncil 15


1STC©July2015

SyntheticTurfEndofLife

Introduction

Whathappenswithsyntheticturfonceitreachestheendofitsusefullife?Whatoptionsareavail-abletoavoidtheland ill?Oneofthechallengesthesyntheticturfindustryisworkingonisdeter-mininghowbesttomanagetheremovalanddispositionofsyntheticturfonceithasreachedtheendofitsusefullife,or“EndofLife”(EOL).

Aswithanyrecoveryandrecycleeffort, thediversityofcomponentmaterialsrepresentsatech-nicalandeconomicchallenge.Syntheticturfincludesavarietyofpolymerssuchaspolyethylene,polypropylene,nylon,styrenebutadienerubberandpolyurethane.Naturalmaterialssuchassilicasandandcalciumcarbonatearealsopresent.Thesematerialsmustbeseparated inorder toberecycledandthevarietypresentsauniquechallengenotseeninotherrecycledmaterialssuchasplasticbottles,carpetorplasticbags.

Withthischallengethere isanassortmentof technologiesandprocessesbeingdevelopedtore-duceland illdependence.Theseincludeprocessesforremovingandseparatingtotheextentpos-sible turf components intomaterials that canbe recycledor reused.Theyalso includedevelop-mentofnewmaterialsforturfconstructionthataremoreenvironmentallyfriendly.

Thisdocumentaddressestheissueswithremoval,reclamationandrecyclingofsyntheticturf.Theindustryisworkinghardtoidentifythebestandmosteconomicalapproachestoremoveandpro-cesssyntheticturfmaterialsthathavereachedtheirendoflife.

Whenitistimetomakethedecisiontoreclaimortoland ill,whatisinvolved?Whataretheop-tionsforreclaimingandrecyclingsyntheticturfinstallations?


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ConvertingSyntheticTurftoaRecyclableMaterial

Thegraphiconthenextpageisasimpli iedviewofthedecisionsrequiredandtheoptionsavaila-bleforsyntheticturfremoval.Itshowsthestepsrequiredtoconvertthesyntheticturfmaterialsintoaformthatisusefulforrecycling.Unfortunately,convertingsyntheticturftoarecyclablema-terialthatisuseablecannotbedoneatthepointofremoval.Materialmustbeshippedtodifferentprocessinglocations.Thecostofshippingisoneofthebiggestchallengesassociatedwithsyntheticturfreclamation.

Oncethedecisionhasbeenmadetoreclaimthesynthetic turf, thematerialsmustbeseparated.In illmustberemovedfromtheturf.Furtherseparationmayberequiredtoseparatesandandde-brisfromthein ill.

After the synthetic turfhasbeenseparated from the in ill it canbebrokendown intomaterialssuitable forpost-consumer recycle content in theplastics industry.This canbeaccomplished inmuchthesamewaythatcarpetisreclaimedandrecycledtoday.Theindustryisworkingtoidenti-fythemosteconomicalwaytoprocessturfplastics.


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KeepingSyntheticTurfOutoftheLand ill

Note: Other turf components such as in ill and the underlayment padmay also need to be re-moved,reclaimedandrecycledorreused.


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EndofLife—SyntheticTurfMaterialFlowOverview

Reclaim Reclaim or Landfill?

Remove Turf & Infill

Landfill

Turf Infill

Sand Rubber

Repurpose or Recycle RepurposeRepurpose,

Donate or Sell

Shear Turf

Repurpose

Shred Turf and Backing

Organic Materials

Mixed Thermoplastic

Polymers

Recycle Recycle

TPE

Coated Sand

EPDM

Other

Polyethylene/Other 95/5%

Underlayment

RepurposeRecycle

Shred Underlayment

Rubber or Thermoplastic

Polymers

Segregate on Site

Clean and Separate


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SummaryofReclamationOptions(asofJanuary2013)

*Recycleoptionsasde inedherearecommerciallyviable.Noclaimsaremaderegardinglogisticalviability.Recycleoptionswillvarybyproduct,geographiclocation,andmarket.**Technicallyfeasiblebutnotcommerciallypracticed.

RemovalOptions ReuseOptions RecycleOptions*

WastetoEnergyOptions

SyntheticTurf

Polyethylene **

Polypropylene **

Nylon ** **

In ill

CrumbRubber

EPDM

TPE

OrganicIn ill

SilicaSand

CoatedSilicaSand

CoatedCrumbRubber

ShockPadUnderlayments

PVC/NBRfoam

PolypropyleneComposite

Polyurethane

PostConsumerTireRubber

ElasticLayerUnderlayments

Post-ConsumerTireRubber **

CombinationDrainage/ShockPadUnderlayments

ExpandedPolypropylene **

Cross-linkedPolyethylene **

DrainageMatsandStripDrains

Polystyrene

Polypropylene **

TPO


6STC©July2015

SyntheticTurf

Pro ile

Atypicalsyntheticturfsports ieldisabout80,000squarefeet(7,432squaremeters).Itcomprisesabout400,000lbs.ofin illand40,000lbs.ofturf,ortheequivalentof15to2030-yarddumpsters.Almostall ieldsinstalledintheU.S. includeasilicasand/tirecrumbrubberorallcrumbrubberin ill, each ofwhich accounts for 2-3 lbs./sq. ft.weight of the synthetic turf system. Therefore,1,000deconstructed ields represent80million square feetof turfweighing40millionpounds,and400millionpoundsofin ill, including250millionpoundsofcrumbrubber,and150millionpoundsofsilicasand.*

The irstin illed(orso-called3rdGeneration)syntheticturfsports ieldwasinstalledintheU.S.in1997.Attheendof2012,therewereover8,000syntheticturfsports ieldsinuse.Dependingonitsusage,exposuretointensesunlight,maintenance,andotherfactors,asyntheticturfsports ieldwilllastuptoabout10yearsbeforereachingtheendofitsusefullife.Itisestimatedthatby2017,over1,000syntheticturfsports ieldswillbedeconstructedannually:365in2013;571in2014;768in2015;941in2016and1,012in2017.*

Duringthepast10years,syntheticturfhasalsobecomeapopularoptionforresidentialandmu-nicipal landscape, roof gardens, pet parks, playgrounds, airport median strips, and other land-scapeandrecreationuses.Highqualitysyntheticturfusedforlandscapeandrecreationpurposescanlastyearslongerthansyntheticturfsports ieldsbecauseofthereducedusage.

Removal

The industry has developed special equipment toremove synthetic turf sports ields by cutting it,pickingitup,rollingitintoeasilytransportablebun-dles,and,insomecases,removingmostofthein ill.Syntheticturfforlandscapeandrecreationuseisnotso easily removed and bundled because it is oftenirregularlyshaped.

Once the synthetic turf is removedand the compo-nentmaterialsarereclaimed,costwillbeaprevail-ingfactorinthedecisionofhowtodisposeofit.Toconsideravailablereuseandrecyclingoptions,theproximityofthesyntheticturftotheremoval,reuse,recyclingorpowergenerationsitewillbeimportantinordertominimizeandmakeaffordablethetransportationcosts.Infact,whencom-paredtothe$30-60,000costofland illingan80,000squarefootsports ield,itisunlikelythatthecostoftransportingthesyntheticturfand/orin illfartherthan200mileswillbeconsideredfeasi-ble.Therefore,itwillbeimportanttoinvestigateallofthereuse,recycling,andpowergenerationoptionsintheregion.Astheindustrydevelopsnewtechnologiesandoptionsfortherecoveryofthesyntheticturf,theeconomicswillimprove.

*Source:TurfReclamationServices,LLC


7STC©July2015

ReuseandRecycling,EnergyRecovery,andExtendedLifeCycle

Herearesomeoftheusestowhicholdsyntheticturfcanbereused:

Baseball:Battingcages,infrontofdugouts,bullpens,indoorpracticeandhittingfacili-ties

Golf:Drivingranges,liningforsandtrapsforerosioncontrol,teelines,drivingmats,

Sports ields:grass ieldsidelines,runningtrackprotectivestrips,bandpractice ield,indoorgeneralusepracticeandplay ields

LandscapeandRecreation:Playareas,smalllandscapeareas,highwayerosioncontrol,dogruns,petparks,equestrianstables,airports

Oncethesyntheticturfhasbeenseparatedandprocesseditisuseableforrecycling.Syntheticturfisproducedfromseveralpolymers.EvenperfectlycleanturfcontainsamixofLLDPE(linearlowdensitypolyethylene),PP(polypropylene)andacoatingofeitherpolyurethane,hotmeltpolyole-in,orlatex.Linearlowdensitypolyethyleneisusedtoproducethemajorityofturf ibers,thelarg-estcomponentofturf.Nylonandpolypropylenearealsoused,buttoamuchsmallerdegree.Poly-propyleneistypicallyusedforthebackingmaterial,butbackingisasmallercomponentthanturfiber.Thesematerialscanbemelted togetherbutmay formapolymermixwithdistinctphases.Heterogeneouspolymeralloyscanpotentiallybeusedasrecyclecontent insomeprocesses,butwillhavemechanicalpropertiesthataredifferentandlikelyinferiortovirginorrecycledpolymersfromsinglecomponents.

Herearesomeofthewaysusedsyntheticturfcanberecycled:

ConversiontoEnergy

Energycanberecoveredfromsyntheticturfbyincineration,pyrolysisorgasi ication.

Thecalori icvalue(CV)ofpolyethyleneis40-45MJ/kg.

SyntheticLumber

Boards

Railroadties

Posts

MoldedParts

Injectionmoldedparts

Compressionmoldedproducts


8STC©July2015

CrumbRubberIn ill

Pro ile

CrumbRubber isderived fromscrapautoandtrucktires thataregroundupandrecycled.Twotypesof tirecrumbrubber in illexist:ambientandcryogenic.Togetherthesemakeupthemostwidelyusedin illinthesyntheticsports ieldandlandscapemarket.

ReuseandRecycling,EnergyRecovery,andExtendedLifeCycle

Hereisalistofviablereuseandrecyclingoptionsforcrumbrubber,sand,orthecombination.Insomecases,theextractedin illmaybeusedAsIs(AI)withminimalcleaning.Inothercases,clean-ing and separating (CS) the sand and crumb rubber may be required. It may be necessary toscreen tirecrumbrubberpriortoreusetoremoveunwanted ineparticulates,e.g., iber,metal,verysmallrubberparticulate,orscreenforaparticularuse,suchasincorporationintoasphalt.

Field/landscapeApplications

Reuseasin illonnewsyntheticturfsports ieldorlandscapeinstallations(AI)(CS)

Natural turf soil amendments to improvewear tolerance and prolong playability ofnaturalturfsports ields(AI)(CS)

ADA-compliantplaygroundsurfacing(AI)(CS)

RoadandRailApplications

Acousticbarriers(CS)(AI)

Roadbase(CS)

Portabletraf iccontroldevices(CS)

Ripplestripsandspeedbumps(CS)

Railcrossings,sleepersandbuffers(CS)

Asphalt

Construction&Industrial

Industrial looring(CS)

Acousticbarriers(CS)(AI)

Sprayeduproo ing,insulationandAdhesivesealants(CS)

MountingpadsandshockAbsorbers(CS)

Air ieldrunways(CS)

Carpetunderlay(CS)

Children'splaygroundsurfacing(CS)(AI)(AIWP)


9STC©July2015

Marine

Wharfbuffers(CS)(AI)

Floatingdocks(CS)(AI)

Nonslip looring(CS)(AI)

Sporting

Equestriansurfacesandworkoutareas(CS)(AI)

Landscaping

Wateringsystems,rubberhosing&lowpressureirrigationdriphoses(CS)

In illforSynthetic/Arti icialLandscapeTurf(CS)(AI)

NaturalTurfSoilAmendment(toimproveweartoleranceandprolongplayability)

AthleticFields(AI)(CS)

SchoolCampusAreas(AI)

SoilCompactedWalkwayorPathwayAreas(AI)

EnergyRecovery

Energycanberecoveredfromcrumbrubberin illbyincineration,pyrolysisorgasi i-cation.

Thecalori icvalue(CV)oftirerubberis27.5MJ/kg(14,000-16,000BTU).


10STC©July2015

In illsOtherThanCrumbRubber

EPDMandTPE

EPDM(EthylenePropyleneDieneMonomer)andTPE(ThermoPlasticElastomer)arepolymericelastomerswithhigh resistance to abrasionandwearandwillnot changeunderhigh tempera-tures.Productsareavailable inavarietyofcolors,andhaveprovendurability inall typesofcli-mates.Excellentelasticitypropertiesandresistancetoatmosphericandchemicalagentsprovidestable,highperformancein illproducts.

BothEPDMandTPEin illsarereusableasin illandrecyclableintoin illorotherproducts.EnergycanalsoberecoveredfromTPEwherethecalori icvalue(CV)canbeupto25-30MJ/kg.

OrganicIn ill

Severalorganic in illmaterialsareavailable intheNorthAmericanmarket,allutilizingdifferentorganiccomponents,suchasnaturalcorkand/orground ibersfromtheoutsideshellofthecoco-nut.Theseproductscanbeutilizedinprofessionalsportsapplicationsaswellasforlandscaping.

Attheendofitslifecycle,organicin illcanberecycleddirectlyintotheenvironment.

PureSilicaSand

PureSilicaSandisoneoftheoriginalin illmaterialsutilizedinsyntheticturfsystems.Thisprod-uctisanaturalin ill thatisnon-toxic,chemicallystableandfractureresistant. Silicasandin illsaretypicallytan,off-tanorwhiteincolorand,dependinguponplantlocation,mayberoundorsub-roundinparticleshape.Silicasandcanbeusedinconjunctionwithmanyotherin illsonthemar-kettoprovideasafeandrealisticplayingsurface.Itcanbecoatedwithdifferentmaterialsusedasastandaloneproduct,orusedincombinationwithtraditionalcrumbrubberin illsystems.

PureSilicaSandcanbereusedas in illonnewsynthetic turf sports ieldsor landscape installa-tions.Itcanalsobeusedinnaturalturfsoilamendmentstoimproveweartoleranceandprolongplayability.

CoatedSilicaSand

CoatedSilicaSandconsistsofcoated,high-puritysilicasandwitheitherasoftorrigidcoatingspe-ci ically engineered for synthetic turf.These coatings areeitherelastomericor acrylic innatureand formabondwith the sandgrain sealing it toprovideexcellentperformanceanddurabilityoverthelifeofa ield.Coatedsandisavailableinvarioussizesandcolorstomeetdifferentneeds.

InNorthAmerica,thematerialcanbereturnedtoselectmanufacturerstobecleanedandrecoat-ed.Theproductcanalsobeusedastop-dressingonnaturalturf ields.

Selectproductscanberecycledintonewcoatedsandin ill.


11STC©July2015

CoatedCrumbRubber

Ambientorcryogeniccrumbrubbercanbecoatedwithcolorants,sealers,oranti-microbialsub-stances,ifdesired,toprovidespeci icbene its.

Selectproductscanberecovered,sanitized,andrecoatedforreuseasin illforsyntheticturfsportssystems,andcanberecycledinforubberizedasphaltormoldedproducts.


12STC©July2015

Underlayments,IncludingShockPads,E-Layers,IntegratedDrainageSystems,DrainageMatsandStripDrains

ShockPads

Shockattenuationpadsofferanaddedlevelofprotectionandconsistentplayabilitytotheplayingsurfaceandaredesignedtocontributetoasafeg-maxlevelthroughoutasyntheticturf ield’slife.Rolloutorpanelsystemsareavailableandcanbepermeableorimpermeable.Somecanreplaceallorportionsof thestonebaseandprovidebothshockattenuationanddrainage,whileothersareusedincombinationwithatraditionalstoneanddrainagebase. Padscanbeplaceddirectlyoverasphaltorcementstabilizedsurfaces.

Variousmaterials thatareused includePVC/NBR(polyvinylchloride/nitrilebutyl rubber) foam,polypropylenecomposite,polyurethaneandpost-consumertirerubber.

Someshockpadslastmorethanoneturflifecycle.Selectpadscanalsobereusedforotherusessuchasgolfmatsandfarmanimalmats.

Somepads aremade from recycledmaterials,while others aremade fromvirginmaterials andmayberecyclable.Certainmanufacturerswillacceptrecoveredproductforrecycling.Energyre-coverymayalsobeanoption.

ElasticLayersorE-Layers

Elasticlayers(E-layers)arepouredin-place(insitu).Theyarepermeableandaretypicallycom-prisedofrubbergranulatewithapolyurethanebinder.E-layerscanvaryinthicknessanddonothaveseams.

Materialsincludepost-consumertirerubberusedincombinationwithapolyurethanebinder.

AlthoughE-layersarenotabletoberecycledatthistime,theycanbereused,orrepairedandre-used.

IntegratedDrainageandShockPadUnderlayment

Drainagepadunderlaymentsaredesignedtoreplacethestonebaseandactasbothabasesupportanddrainagesystemforturf.Rolloutorpanelsystemsareutilized.

Materialsusedforthevariousproductofferingsincludeexpandedpolypropyleneorcross-linkedpolyethylene.

Drainagepadscanbeusedformultipleturflifecycles.

Theproductcanberecycledandincorporatedintoanewdrainagepadorotherproducts.Cross-linkedpolyethylenecanbeafuelsourceandhasacaloricvalueof45MJ/kg.


13STC©July2015

DrainageMatsandStripDrains

Drainagematsandstripdrainsaredesignedtoactasbothabasesupportandasingle-sideddrain-agesystemforturf.

Materials used for the different products include polystyrene, polypropylene and TPO(thermoplasticole in).Polypropyleneproductscanbereusedandrecycled.


14STC©July2015

ReuseandRecyclingSuccesses

STCmembercompaniesareworkinghardtodevelopreuseandrecyclingoptionsforsyntheticturfieldsthathavereachedtheendoftheirusefullife.Severalmembercompanieswillacceptrecov-eredsyntheticturf.Theyprovideassistancewithremovalandwillcleanandwarehouseturfthatissuitable for reuse. Assistancewith transportationmay also be available. Reuse options includearenafootball,teemats,sandtrapliners,landscapelinermaterial,golfproductsanddoormats.

Membercompaniesarealsodevelopingremovaltechnologiestomakeremovalandrecoverybothquickandeconomical. Separationof in ill from turf isparticularly important toprovide suitablematerialsforrecyclingprocesses.

Companies are developing processes to collect and separatematerials so that turf can be pro-cessedintopost-consumerrecyclecontentproducts.Turfreceivedinrollscanbeprocessedintoplastic pellets that are suitable for injection molding, rotational molding and pro ile extrusion.Productsproducedincludecarpetandturfbacking,resilient looringandin ill.

Wastetoenergyisanotherviableoption.Processeshavebeendevelopedtoutilizereclaimedturfasfueltoprovideenergyformanufacturingoperations.

For information about STCmember companies providing reclamation, reuse, and recycling ser-vices, please refer to the STC Online Buyers’ Guide & Member Directory on the STC website,www.syntheticturfcouncil.org.

LookingAhead

Theusesforreclaimedturfareasvastasthenewtechnologiesbeingdevelopedtoallowforhigherenduses thanever thoughtpossiblebefore. Themembersof theSyntheticTurfCouncilplan toleadinthisefforttodevelopbetterandmoreenvironmentallyfriendlyoptionsforthesecondlifeofsyntheticturfsurfaces.


15STC©July2015

AbouttheSyntheticTurfCouncil

BasedinAtlanta,theSyntheticTurfCouncilwasfoundedin2003topromotetheindustryand toassistbuyersandenduserswith theselection,useandmaintenanceof syntheticturfsystemsinsports ield,golf,municipalparks,airports,landscapeandresidentialappli-cations. The organization is also a resource for current, credible, and independent re-search on the safety and environmental impact of synthetic turf. Membership includesbuilders,landscapearchitects,testinglabs,maintenanceproviders,manufacturers,suppli-ers, installation contractors, in illmaterial suppliers and other specialty service compa-nies.Formoreinformation,visittheSTC’sOnlineBuyers’GuideandMemberDirectoryatwww.syntheticturfcouncil.org.


SyntheticTurfCouncil400GalleriaParkway,Suite1500

Atlanta,GA30339Phone:678.385.6720|Fax:678.385.6501

www.syntheticturfcouncil.org

OnlineBuyer’sGuideandMemberDirectorywww.stc.of icialbuyersguide.net

Removal, Recovery, Reuse and Recycling of Synthetic Turf ... · Crumb Rubber Inill Proile Crumb Rubber is derived from scrap auto and truck tires that are ground up and recycled.

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