Petitions lodged calling for households to be forced to apply for PLANNING PERMISSION.
13:18, 08 Nov 2025
UK households could be forced to rip up artificial grass amid concerns over the environment - with Wales mulling over a pan, Australia ordering residents to tear it up, and petitions lodged calling for households to be forced to apply for PLANNING PERMISSION.
A crackdown and backlash on artificial grass is happening all over the globe. Demand in Britain is down 66 per cent on 2021 figures, and people are sorely regretting their plastic lawns.
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Petitions lodged calling for households to be forced to apply for PLANNING PERMISSION.
13:18, 08 Nov 2025
UK households could be forced to rip up artificial grass amid concerns over the environment - with Wales mulling over a pan, Australia ordering residents to tear it up, and petitions lodged calling for households to be forced to apply for PLANNING PERMISSION.
A crackdown and backlash on artificial grass is happening all over the globe. Demand in Britain is down 66 per cent on 2021 figures, and people are sorely regretting their plastic lawns.
BBC Springwatch presenter Chris Packham previously described artificial grass as the “horticultural antichrist”. And the Guardian reports people with artificial lawns have also been asking councils to remove overhanging trees and shrubs that deposit leaves, to cut down on all the vacuuming.
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According to a survey from Mybuilder.com, 24% of Britons would like plastic grass to be banned. And the possibility of a Wales-wide ban on artificial grass has been raised by a government minister.
Climate Change Minister Julie James said there were “worrying reports” that the “toxicity coming off artificial grass” could be “quite alarming”.
And The Eden Project in Cornwall was obliged to take up its artificial turf last year after protests.
And a homeowner in Melbourne’s west is fighting a council order to replace his property’s synthetic grass with a natural lawn, saying he has a “busy lifestyle” and wants a “low maintenance” front yard.
The council’s chief executive, Celia Haddock, said a 2020 planning permit for the construction of four dwellings at the site, required a landscape plan.
“The landscape plan showed ‘lawn areas’ in the front yard of dwelling 1,” Haddock said.
Plaid Cymru South Wales West MS Sioned Williams said: “Artificial grass is made of plastic and other synthetic materials, which, despite the perception of being maintenance free, requires regular cleaning and has a life span of eight to 15 years, after which sustainable disposal can be challenging.
“Aside from reducing the benefits of natural gardens, using artificial grass carries other environmental implications, such as hindering the habitat of earthworms and insects, while the leaching of microplastics can harm wildlife.”
The UK Labour Party government warned: “It is for local authorities to comply with the legal and policy safeguards in place to protect biodiversity and ensure sustainable drainage.
“The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (the NERC Act) requires all public authorities in England to have regard for conserving biodiversity in the exercise of their functions. Our most important designated sites and species are also protected under legislation.
“Therefore, the Government has no plans to ban the use of artificial grass. We prefer to help people and organisations make the right choice rather than legislating on such matters.
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“However, the use of artificial grass must comply with the legal and policy safeguards in place to protect biodiversity and ensure sustainable drainage, while measures such as the strengthened biodiversity duty should serve to encourage public authorities to consider more sustainable alternatives.”