This week, concerns have been raised about spillage of crumb rubber infill and other debris from the removal of artificial turf at Newton South High School. The more than 10-year-old fields are being replaced with new artificial turf as part of the Synthetic Turf Replacement Projects. Residents have been urging the City Council (see petition), Conservation Commission, and other City Commissions to acknowledge the public health, safety, and environmental risks of both artificial turf and the disposal/recycling process. Led by Better Action Now, residents have been objecting to Newton’s plans to replace the three artificial turf fields at the high schools and to install a new turf field at Albemarle Field.
Ward 3 Councilor Julia Malakie and environmental health advocate Ellie Goldberg have been documenting the removal process at Newton South in a series of videos (Video 1, Video 2, and Video 3) and created a website, This is Not Recycling. The videos, taken over a four-day period, show piles of rolled-up turf stacked in the parking area near a children’s swing set. The videos also show crumb rubber pellets spilled onto the parking area near uncovered storm drains.
In response to reviewing the videos of the NSHS project, the Sustainable Materials Management Commission (SMMC) discussed the turf disposal issue at its July 27 meeting (use passcode %1fmE!f+ to view recording). SMMC member Karen Slote presented a report on the history of artificial turf, identified some of its health and environmental issues, and described Newton’s artificial turf project. The SMMC reviewed the videos of the removal process and voted unanimously to send letters to the Mayor and to the City Council expressing concerns about:
- Insufficient safeguards to ensure that the waste materials are being thoroughly captured,
- Lack of transparency about how the materials are being disposed
- How other turf removal projects would be managed.
The Conservation Commission also discussed the issues raised at its meeting on July 27 and reached out to the Parks, Recreation and Culture Department regarding these concerns.
On July 31, the Director of Parks and Open Space, Luis Perez Demorizi, wrote an email updating the City Council on the status of the project and described the field’s process for removal and disposal of old turf. He said “no turf material was stored within the swing set area, contrary to what has been reported, and erosion and sediment control barriers are in place to prevent runoff into the adjacent wetlands. The contractor will be clearing all remaining debris as part of the project work over the next couple of days.”
Fig City News reached out to the Administration, Parks, Recreation and Culture Commissioner Nicole Banks, and Conservation Commission Planner Jennifer Steel for comments. Commissioner Banks responded that she recommends anyone with concerns should not wait for an upcoming board or commission meeting but rather let them know right away so they can take corrective action. With regard to the crumb rubber run-off seen in the videos, she said “The wetlands were and have been very carefully protected by an order of the Conservation Commission. Nothing has breached the erosion controls protecting the wetlands. The storm drain was just outside the limit of work and there was not a silt sack. That was immediately rectified and the storm drain has been cleaned.” She further reported that “Chief Environmental Planner Jennifer Steel was at the site this afternoon and determined that the order of conditions is being upheld appropriately.”
Alicia Geilen, Wetland Circuit Rider for the MassDEP Northeast Regional Office, responded by email to the complaints referred to MassDEP. She said that the Conservation Commission is the body that is in charge of enforcement of all projects in the Wetlands Protection Area jurisdiction.
She reported that she had reached out to Jennifer Steel, who reported that the Commission has no authority outside of the “100-foot Buffer Zone or the FEMA floodplain” and that “staff confirmed that temporary erosion controls (staked straw wattles) were in place as required at a pre-construction site visit” and added, “I am informed that although the erosion controls were breached in one area (which I can see in one of the photos you sent with this email), no sediment or other materials reached the wetlands. Staff will go back out today or tomorrow to confirm that erosion controls are being properly maintained, assess any impacts beyond the Limit of Work (the staked straw wattles), and work with the DPW to ensure that any materials/impacts beyond the Limit of Work are dealt with in accordance with the regulations and the permit issued by the Commission”.
She further noted that “the DPW was notified that crumb rubber reached the catch basin and very likely has migrated into the storm drain system and the DPW was “told to clean the catch basin(s) sweep the ground in the area, and install a “silt sack” to protect the drain system moving forward.”
With regard to the removal, Dr. Kyla Bennett, Director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and Director of Science Policy said she is “horrified” by the pictures showing the material going into the storm drains” but that “it is typical” and “happens every time a field is removed.” She said these fields are filled with toxic chemicals and contain dangerous carcinogens. She said these fields are not being recycled and that it is a “myth” that they can be recycled, adding “these fields are going to be dumped and become someone else’s problem.” She said that she recognizes that while “this may have been more accepted in the 1960s and ‘70s, this is 2023 and the fact that Newton is doing this is just appalling to me.”
Update: 8/2/2023: The Mayor’s Office reached out to Fig City News to report that it received a Chain of Custody document from APW Enterprises, LLC d/b/a Art Turf Recycling. The document states that the company is in full possession of the fully infilled synthetic turf at its Pottstown, PA facility and that the materials are awaiting processing. “All rolls of turf will have the infill removed. Infill material is dried, cleaned, sized, separated, and bagged for reuse in new synthetic turf fields and other industrial/commercial applications. The turf is re-rolled and shipped to our Pennsylvania recycling partner where it is ground up and extruded into new plastic lumber products. No material other than the dust dirt and foreign debris extracted during our cleaning process will end up in a landfill.”
The Brandeis Road field replacement is scheduled to begin this week.
Editorial Notes: Amy Sangiolo signed the petition submitted to the City Council requesting a public hearing on artificial turf.
This article has been updated to:
- Correct the abbreviation for the Sustainable Materials Management Commission to SMMC,
- Add “more than” 10-year-old field to more accurately reflect the age of fields, and
- Include information provided by the Mayor’s Office regarding the recycling of the artificial turf from the NSHS fields.
