Plastic Grass: Solution Or Big Problem? 

By Peter Hehir 

At a meeting of the Friends of Callan Park on Monday, August 12,  three of the candidates for the Balmain (Baludarri) Ward, outlined the reasons for their candidacy. The hot topic proved to be the push by the ALP mayor and his councillors, who dominate the Inner West Council (IWC), to install plastic grass on both of Callan Park’s playing fields, including its historic waterfront cricket oval. They are also pushing for plastic fields in the new Rozelle Parklands.  

At that meeting, it was revealed that the pro-plastic position comes from the very vocal soccer lobby and that plastic grass is opposed by the other four major sporting codes: Cricket, Rugby League, Rugby Union, and Australian Rules Football, simply because it prevents each of these sports from ever again playing on those fields.   

Apart from the players, it’s surprising how few people are aware that it’s impossible for any of the four major codes to play on fields covered with synthetic turf. The experiment at Ryde’s J.S. Hall oval proved that. On some days the surface temperatures approached 90°C. The resultant heat stress was so unbearable that it was physically impossible to play cricket. Some matches had to be abandoned. J.S. Hall is just one of a great many metropolitan Sydney grounds now lost to cricket.  

Soccer is the only major sporting body campaigning to replace natural grass fields with plastic. It was stated if the soccer lobby were able to convince the Greater Sydney Parklands, the body that has the final say on what happens at Callan Park, then the plastic field proposed on the waterfront oval would cease to be a home for cricket players, thus severing a continuity of cricket on that ground that goes back to at least 1880.  

‘Extraordinarily Selfish Attitude’

This was of particular concern for me as I’d played many a game there between 1985 and 2007.  

 If it was covered with plastic grass, the waterfront oval would then either lay idle during the summer months or could even be hired for early morning or late afternoon summer soccer. This is now happening all over Sydney.  

It would not only deny access to both junior and senior cricketers, but also to the members of the public, dog lovers, and those casual park users who understand just how absolutely essential for mental health our very few remaining natural green spaces are.  

The opinion was also expressed that the push by the soccer lobby reflected an extraordinarily selfish attitude. One that not only prevents the other three winter football codes from ever using those fields but also it ensures that they are incapable of being used for cricket.   

Unsurprisingly, (apart from some, but not all soccer players), the rest of the community is opposed to the introduction of these artificial plastic surfaces. Park users are very concerned by what they see as an alienating, incredibly expensive, and regressive step.  

So much so that in the last Lane Cove Council elections the pro-synthetic councillors were voted out. The plan to install plastic grass on Bob Campbell oval was then resoundingly defeated.  

Environmental Impact Of Synthetic Turfs

In other parts of Sydney, installing plastic grass fields has proven to be the first step in privatising an essential public resource and locking out the rest of the community.  

Not only is cricket impossible on plastic grass fields, but these grounds also remain unusable by anyone during the hottest part of the day in the summer months. On a 28°C day surface temperatures reaching 86°C have been recorded on the Tempe synthetic field. Bare skin contact for just a few seconds results in 3rd-degree burns. With an ever-increasing number of fields now totally taken over by soccer, on the hottest of summer days, notices are placed stating that the fields are closed to all due to the risk of both burns and heat stress. 

In response to the question “Do you support the installation of plastic grass on the Balmain peninsula’s playing fields”, the three candidates who attended the Friends of Callan Park meeting offered the following. 

Independent candidate Taneal Sultana said. “I am not supportive of synthetic turf on playing fields due to both the environmental and broader community use impacts. However, I am supportive of greater research and Council investment into constructing and maintaining better natural fields”.  

The Greens candidate Ismet Tastan said. “I oppose the artificial turf that’s proposed in Callan Park. But if it has to be installed anywhere it should be in the Rozelle Parklands”. His somewhat surprising stance was not only seen to be ‘NIMBY’ but was also inconsistent with the Greens’ professed environmental perspective.   

Internationally renowned Sydney journalist and author, Elizebeth Farrelly, had previously commented  “How practical is it to invest in a product whose environmental impacts include water contamination, biodiversity loss, canopy loss, soil depth and intensified urban heat? And all this in the face of climate change!”  

Synthetic Turf Is Not All-Weather

Balmain Independent candidate and the only sitting councillor who attended, John Stamolis, was one of the Inner West’s Councillors who approved the artificial turf at Tempe. He, like the other councillors, was led to believe that this would solve the wash-out problems because artificial grass was purported to be “an all-weather surface”.   

Councillor Stamolis said. “Synthetic turf isn’t all-weather. The Tempe synthetic field had, on three occasions, been closed for some days following heavy rain. The most recent event was during the last big downpour in early April. Natural turf should always be the first priority. The sporting clubs and experts have told me that the Council’s field maintenance standards are well behind other areas”.    

“Placing synthetic turf on two large areas of Callan Park, an 1870s heritage landscape, an item of State heritage significance, and one of Council’s major biodiversity assets, is of great concern to many in our community.” 

The Liberal candidate for Balmain, Christian Bracci said. “The discourse of synthetic grass is a subject open to debate and there are valid arguments for and against”. The other independent candidate, Dorothy Bassil from Redfern, did not respond. 

Natural Grass Is The Way To Go

A City Hub article published on June 12 stated that the money that the IWC ratepayers spent to rectify the Tempe problem on each of these occasions was not inconsiderable. The replacement cork alone was reputed to cost some $5,000/tonne. This rectification meant that whenever a synthetic field was flooded, it was out of action for at least a week.   

An image of the Tempe ‘all-weather field’, closed due to weather, was circulated in a flyer by The Friends of Callan Park. It showed a boggy mess. It was also reported that a good proportion of the Tempe cork had been washed into the adjacent Cooks River, resulting in heavy pollution of the waterway. See the pic below. 

Recent investigation and subsequent action by Mossman Council showed that the wet weather issue could easily be solved by improved care, competent management, and the appropriate selection of durable and resistant natural grasses. The council reported that they have been successful in addressing this issue. 

It was also suggested at the Friends of Callan Park meeting that it was the responsibility of the only sporting code lobbying for plastic grass to arrange for alternative activities when their soccer matches were rained out.  

Adopting a ‘dog in the manger’ attitude, one that alienates the rest of the community, by denying anyone access during the summer months, is neither an equitable nor acceptable solution.  

The secretary of the Inner West Harbour Junior Cricket Association, Terence Kelly said. “There is only one surface that caters for all sporting codes. And that is natural grass. Fields that are well drained and well maintained can satisfy the needs of the whole community”.  

Losing Parks Not An Option

Cricket NSW is extremely concerned about local cricket fields being taken over by the synthetic grass lobby. They have met with the IWC mayor and voiced their cogent opposition. Darcy Byrne, the IWC mayor, is on the Balmain ALP ticket. Many Balmain locals will be surprised to learn that he actually lives in Lewisham. He was invited to attend the Friends of Callan Park meeting. He neither attended nor forwarded a policy statement. 

Hall Greenland, the president of the Friends of Callan Park, said. “A  private members bill is about to be tabled in the NSW parliament that would prohibit these fields. So before you cast your ballot on  September 14, ask yourself, is it really fair that we cater to the needs of one group, at the expense of the rest of the community and the environment”?  

Both of my sons played their junior cricket at Easton Park for the Easton Park Cricket Club. It and the Callan Park waterfront oval were the only two grounds on the peninsula available for junior cricket. Easton Park and the new oval in the Parklands are now both also under threat from the mayor’s campaign for plastic grass.  

I firmly believe it would be a positive step for the community to see the pro-plastic ALP councillors, including the mayor, turfed out. If the Lane Cove residents can rise up for Bob Campbell Oval, then surely we can do the same to protect Callan Park. 

Once the community loses these parks to plastic you can be certain of one thing; we’ll never get them back.