The number of NSW schools with synthetic turf revealed

Hundreds of NSW public schools have synthetic turf on their grounds, it has been revealed, amid concerns about the hot surface’s impact on children’s health and its environmental risks.

A Department of Education survey of 1600 of the state’s 2200 public schools conducted late last year found 58 per cent had synthetic turf.

It is the first time the department has revealed how many schools have the controversial play surface installed.

The material is promoted as a lower maintenance alternative to grass, but public backlash against synthetic turf and rubber crumb is growing due to evidence about damage to human health and the environment from its plastic, which can heat to extreme temperatures and leach forever chemicals and microplastics into waterways.

“The synthetic turf has been installed at these schools over many years with extents ranging from a few square metres up to full-size soccer fields,” a department spokesman said. Two-thirds of synthetic turf detected was partially or fully shaded, he said.

“We are aware that air temperature above artificial turf has the potential to exceed a comfortable temperature and contributes to the urban heat island effect,” he said.

“The department works to reduce the heat island effect through shading of synthetic turf, turf infill choice, material choices and irrigation.”

Frustrated by the previous lack of data available, Sydney mum and co-founder of advocacy group the National Turf Alliance Catriona Carver took matters into her own hands, spending two years cross-referencing satellite images with manufacturers’ websites, P&C announcements and school newsletters to estimate the number of schools with synthetic turf in Greater Sydney.

She concluded that at least one-third had the surface, including 150 schools in category 1 and 2 bushfire risk zones. Synthetic surf is a known bushfire hazard.

A 2023 report by the NSW chief scientist and engineer recommended against synthetic sports fields in areas of high bushfire and extreme flood risk.

The same report also found the plastic grass contained biological pathogens and toxic chemicals, and presented a risk of microplastic ingestion.

“[Synthetic turf] has some benefits to play, but it’s got too many negatives for long-term health for children, and too much is unknown,” Carver said.

A CSIRO and UNSW report found synthetic turf contained toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that could be absorbed by the human body through direct contact, inhalation and ingestion.

According to the report, while research generally indicates that typical users of synthetic turf fields experience low health risks, ongoing studies are needed to investigate potential long-term effects, particularly from prolonged exposure.

Carver said schools and P&Cs received no information about safety, or how long the surface would last.

“Schools are putting this in on an instant basis, without much information about what happens to it,” she said.

Professor Sebastian Pfautsch of Western Sydney University has been investigating heat and synthetic turf in schools and playgrounds since 2019.

Last summer, he helped lead a research project with close to 1000 western Sydney school students, measuring temperatures in their schools and developing strategies to combat heat.

Pfautsch described synthetic turf as “the hottest material you will find in schools”. A NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure report found the material frequently reached temperatures of up to 75 degrees, compared to 37 degrees for natural grass, in western Sydney.

According to Pfautsch, radiant heat from the surface also heats up the walls of nearby classrooms.

“That, of course, means classroom temperatures go up, which means you need more air-conditioning,” Pfautsch said.

At Granville Boys High School, where grounds are mostly asphalt and synthetic turf, temperatures reached 48.2 degrees, “likely because it was in an enclosed space covered mostly by synthetic turf and surrounded by buildings which would heat up in the sun and radiate heat back into the surrounding air”, according to the project’s report.

Doonside Technology High School’s synthetic tennis courts reached 89.2 degrees on a 36-degree day; the ground was so hot that students “cooked an egg on it”.

Heat had negative consequences on not only health, but also learning outcomes, Pfautsch said.

“When you go for recess and your lunch break, and it’s very hot when you get back to the classroom, it takes much longer to find concentration again,” he said.

In a statement, a NSW School Infrastructure spokesman said the department used natural turf whenever possible and synthetic material was considered only in “high-use zones, shaded areas or other areas where the growth of natural turf is difficult, and in situations where it may be preferable to asphalt or concrete”.

He said the department regularly inspected synthetic turf in schools to ensure it remained fit for purpose, and feedback from schools was informing an update to its facilities standards this year.

The Department of Education spokesman confirmed that, when synthetic turf reaches the end of its useful life, a natural turf replacement “will be considered where possible”.

A separate issue is department schools relying on local synthetic turf facilities.

Ku-ring-gai Council is considering reverting the synthetic turf at Charles Bean Oval, which is used by Lindfield Learning Village for play, after lead, arsenic, zinc and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were found in the material. The school has raised concerns about higher numbers of abrasions that require first aid, turf sticking to students’ shoes, and excessive heat.

Parent Julia Hobson said her kids were afraid to play on the field, conscious of its health impact.

“That’s unacceptable, that in a school environment, you’re having to make those decisions to avoid an area to make your kids feel safe,” she said.

Carver said the only way to fix hot synthetic turf was to remove it.

“Heat is the biggest thing that nobody can change. You either cover it all up, or you don’t have it. There’s no other way because you can’t do anything about it,” she said.

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