Silkeborg significantly reduces microplast from artificial turf fields
DR-Inland in Denmark
Friday, May 09, 2025 • 6:15 PM UTC - in Denmark
Artificial grass pitches, which are used year-round, can no longer harm the environment significantly.
At least not as much.
In Silkeborg, where one of the country's two Super League clubs, playing on artificial turf, have their home ground, they have cracked the code on how artificial grass pitches can be used year-round without polluting the environment with microplast.
This is evident from a new report from the Technical University.
Read also: Possible EU ban on small, black rubber particles could be a smooth tackle for Danish football clubs ( https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/eu-forbud-mod-smaa-sorte-gummistykker-kan-blive-en-glidende-tackling-paa-danske )
Through a test project, it has been successful in reducing the loss to under 10 kilos of microplast per pitch per year.
This is 50 times less than what the EU Commission has set as the basis for a future ban, which will take effect in 2031. ( http://www.genan.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GENAN_Q_and_A_Infill_120324_DK.pdf )
The ban is based on the fact that from each pitch, 500 kilos of rubber granules disappear annually, and that the small rubber particles subsequently have the tendency to disappear from the pitches and be spread in the environment.
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Facts about rubber granules
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Rubber granules are microplast.
Microplast is accumulated in the environment, in animals and humans, and microplast has been found in water environments, in food and in drinking water.
Therefore, the EU has banned the sale of microplast for a wide range of uses - including microplast, which is used as granules for artificial grass pitches.
Existing pitches should not be dug up and changed to, for example, regular grass, when the ban takes effect in October 2031.
Source: Environmental Protection Agency
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Four initiatives make a difference
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The rubber granules used on the 400 artificial grass pitches we have in Denmark come from recycled tires, and make it possible to use the pitches all year round.
In Brussels, EU politicians are concerned about what happens when rubber particles are not kept on football pitches, but are spread to other places.
This can happen, for example, if rubber particles are spread out over the edges of the pitch. And players can carry it away with their football boots or in their clothing.
Rubber particles are considered as so-called microplast, which degrades very slowly in the environment. Today, microplast is found in both water and some food products.
According to the results from Silkeborg, which have been made in collaboration between the Danish Football Association (DBU) and the Technical University, it is possible to significantly reduce the spread by some relatively simple measures, explains Carsten Sigvert.
It involves, among other things, setting up a player entrance, which functions as a sluice.
- Players are forced to walk through an area where they are made aware that it might be a good idea to clean their boots and brush themselves off, says Carsten Sigvert and adds:
- If there was nothing, you would just leave the area without doing anything.
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Minimizing the spread of microplast
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*Bands work – height has a meaning*
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Bands are effective in keeping rubber granules (infill) on artificial grass pitches. The European guidance recommends bands with a height of 50 centimeters.
*Ind- and outlet sluices for players are important*
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A sluice with a grate as "floor", which players must pass through, can collect infill from players, trainers and equipment when they leave the pitch.
*Maintenance equipment should be cleaned*
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If maintenance equipment, for example tractors, leave the pitch, they should be cleaned for infill, and there should be a sluice only for maintenance equipment with a grate for the collection of infill.
*Maintenance is important*
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The maintenance plan for each pitch should be followed, and infill, which is pushed out towards the edge of the pitch, should be moved back to the pitch's most used areas.
Source: Technical University. The report can be read in its entirety at www.silkeborgbanen.dk ( https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.silkeborgbanen.dk%2F&data=05%7C02%7CIDME%40dr.dk%7C6f73157a553247d7fd3808dd8ef19384%7Cfa7681ea962f4d1dad37f1279d621aed%7C1%7C0%7C638823890400073155%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=s%2FN4AXSRA9axIx%2BT2ZbrIgvp4%2BhwPPxO2a2kggxalXs%3D&reserved=0 )
At the same time, machines and tractors have been cleaned inside the pitch and driven out through special machine entrances. Here, they drive over grates, when they leave the pitch.
- In this way, the remaining rubber granules are contained in them.
Here, Carsen Sigvert puts it in words:
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No microplast in drain and drinking water
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A significant concern in the EU's decision, which was made in 2023, has been the risk of contamination of the water environment.
But in Silkeborg, the drain water from the pitch has been continuously monitored – and here, there is no trace of microplast or harmful substances.
Even PFAS levels are below the national guidelines for freshwater and drinking water.
This is how the sluice at the player entrance looks. According to Carsten Sigvert, similar work has also been done on a spectator fence. Thus, spectators do not bring rubber granules out of the pitch. (Photo: © Emil August Prehn)
But we cannot avoid the fact that, despite the measures, rubber particles from the pitches still end up in the environment.
And according to Carsten Sigvert, they are also trying to find an alternative.
The ban takes effect as expected in eight years, during which there is a transition period, during which one can try to find replacement products.
- But there are just not many materials that can replace rubber for this purpose.
He admits that it is a challenge.
- But we have eight years to find some new products, and we have five and a half years left, he says.
Even though the project is formally completed in Silkeborg, the work does not stop.
Silkeborg Municipality continues the measurements on the pitch and continues to develop methods for becoming even sharper on how football and the environment can play on the same team.
Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.