Artificial grass is the perfect green solution for those who want to have a perfect lawn without the need for large amounts of water or continuous maintenance. Artificial turf, made of recycled plastic, remains aesthetically pleasing for a long time, and its practicality and ease of management have made it increasingly widespread in private gardens, large structures such as stadiums, golf courses and sports centers, or even as an urban furnishing complement.
Artificial turf has a fairly long lifespan and can remain intact and beautiful for many years, but it too is subject to natural degradation, due to normal wear and tear and the impact of atmospheric agents. When this occurs, it is necessary to provide for the proper disposal of the artificial turf, so as not to disperse this potentially polluting material into the environment.
How are artificial grass mats made
Artificial turf mats are not all the same: those used in small gardens are aesthetically more refined, with stalks of different heights and colors that closely imitate real grass, while those used to cover the surfaces of soccer fields are designed to be as stable, elastic and resistant to traction as possible.
Regardless of their use, however, all artificial grasses are made with polypropylene or polyethylene fibers (which imitate grass fibers) woven onto a layer of synthetic material that is then covered with vulcanized latex, to make it more resistant to friction and wear.
Below this first layer is added an additional thickness, necessary to stabilize the artificial turf and make it more resistant to wear. This underlying layer, called the "infill," can be made of different materials, ranging from sand (used in the case of domestic lawns, subject to less wear and tear) to rubber granules, which provide greater stability and are therefore preferred if the surface of a sports field or a high-traffic area needs to be covered.
The structure of artificial turf is therefore quite complex, and it is for this reason that it is important to provide for its proper disposal: as we have seen, an artificial turf mat is made almost entirely of non-biodegradable material, which must be properly recovered to avoid causing serious environmental damage.
The CAMEC solutions for the correct disposal of artificial turf
Artificial turf can be properly treated and reduced in size using the high-powered monorotor CAMEC. The sods, once detached from the pavement, contain material of different types: synthetic fibers, rubber, sand, residues of glue or mastics, metal parts, and cannot therefore be recycled like normal plastic. To reduce them in size, it is necessary to use a high-performance shredder, such as the model GS650, with electric motorization and radial pusher, or the GL620, with hydraulic motorization and radial or box pusher.