Investigating sustainable sports surface systems in the Nordic countries

The Nordic plastic program under the Nordic Council of Ministers for the Environment and Climate is administered by the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment. The Program is launching a call for tenders for a project investigating sustainable sport surface systems. Rubber granules used as infill material on artificial turf fields is a significant source of microplastic pollution, spreading easily from synthetic sport pitches to surrounding areas leading to microplastics ending up in soil, waterways, and eventually in the ocean. The European Union has now adopted regulation that will ban the sale of sport pitch infill containing plastics from 2031. Sport clubs and synthetic sport pitch owners must now adjust to the new regulation. There is however concern that alternative infill or pitch systems are lacking in terms of performance characteristics, shows poor performance in Nordic climate and is more costly than rubber infill. A previous study funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers for the Environment and Climate found the following knowledge gaps: Pitch owners and sport clubs are uncertain about the level of performance and functionality of sustainable alternatives to synthetic sport pitches containing rubber granules in different Nordic conditions. Pitch owners and sport clubs lack knowledge on how to evaluate the environmental impact of the alternative sustainable synthetic sport pitches. Pitch owners and sport clubs lack knowledge on how they can evaluate the investment and lifetime costs of different synthetic sport pitches. The background and project activities foreseen to be executed under this project are further described in appendix 1 to the Contract.