Case Studies

Glass Roots makeover for Kiwi Rugby Field

In readiness for Rugby World Cup 2011, Nelson City Council completed the replacement of Trafalgar Park's turf with a sustainable, user friendly material to enhance drainage: recycled glass made into sand-like particles.

Council determined there were several benefits to choosing recycled glass over sand, the more common material for construction of sports fields.

Using recycled glass saves on Council's budget because natural supplies of sand that meet the specific grading and chemical composition required for sport stadiums are becoming very rare and have a higher cost. As supplies of natural sand dwindle, future turf dressing and maintenance costs are likely to increase. With glass sand, there is an almost guaranteed supply. Using recycled glass sand also saves the natural sand that would have to be taken from New Zealand river beds to carpet the turf.

Users do not notice a difference as to how the field performs during sports events because recycled glass is completely safe, mimics the benefits of sand over a traditional soil turf and allows rainfall to drain quickly from the grass carpet above it into a subsoil drainage system. A glass sand carpet was laid as the base level before the grass seed was sown with the remaining glass sand on top.

The NCC Community Services Committee reports, "The sheer quantity of recycled glass that was used at Trafalgar Park (2,800 tonnes) really brings home how much we could have taken from our natural resources. Using a recycled material that performs just the same as a sand turf is a great find."