By Adam Pagnucco.
After the formation of a coalition to advocate for turf fields, a coalition has formed to advocate for grass fields. The issue is acute because MCPS is seeking funding for turf fields in its requested capital budget, which is pending before the county council. The pro-grass field coalition’s letter is reprinted below.
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May 5, 2026
Montgomery County Council
Stella Werner Council Office Building 100 Maryland Ave, Rockville, MD 20850
Dear Montgomery County President and Council,
We are submitting this coalition letter in support of less costly, healthier, safer, and more sustainable natural grass school athletic fields for Montgomery County Public Schools. We appreciate your thoughtful consideration in your budget deliberations for this and many other matters, and trust that fiscal and public health prudence and obligations will help to guide your decision making.
Our children thrive in healthy, safe environments where they learn, play, and grow. Plastic turf is an unregulated, expensive, hot, toxic, unsustainable athletic surface that poses unnecessary risks to our kids and communities. Real grass athletic fields are safer, more cost-effective alternative that provides more equitable access to athletic fields for all kids and has been successfully implemented here in Montgomery County! Indeed, in 2023 County leadership touted our very own real grass experts, Recognizing the Parks Department for their grass fields program!
We would like to thank Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, Vice President Marilyn Balcombe, and Councilmembers Evan Glass, Kristin Mink, Will Jawando, and Kate Stewart for supporting a budget that provides sufficient funding for the safer, sustainable, more cost-effective choice to upgrade and maintain real grass fields. We support this fiscally responsible choice in a tight budget season.
What the Science Says
The science is clear, pointing to many health and environmental hazards linked to plastic turf such as:
- Increased risk of heat related illness on plastic turf, heat islands;
- Environmental contamination and increased risk of exposure to PFAS, microplastics, and other toxic chemicals that are associated with chronic health risks such as hormone and cardiometabolic disruption, cancer, etc.;
- Higher rates of skin abrasions and lower extremity injuries’
- Reduced access to green space and loss of the many mental, physical, cognitive, and health benefits of natural environments;
- Plastic production, use, and disposal that contributes to increased GHG emissions and global warming, plastic pollution, and more.
Plastic Turf Is Inequitable
It’s imperative to center equity in these decisions for our students and staff. Hotter, more toxic plastic turf is not equitable for any child due to their physiological and developmental life-stage vulnerabilities. Children, especially those with asthma, allergies, and other underlying health conditions, and those in communities already overburdened by pollution and lack of access to green space, face disproportionate risks from extreme heat and harmful chemical exposures associated with plastic turf.
An equitable school environment ensures that all children — from student athletes to physical education students — can safely participate without heightened health risks. Choosing safer, natural grass fields advances equity by reducing preventable exposures and creating athletic spaces that are accessible and protective for every family in Montgomery County. Given the many hazards associated with new-generation plastic turf, it should not be the default athletic surfacing for children and teens. This approach simply does not work if the goal is to proactively protect children’s short and long-term health.
Plastic Turf Is Fiscally Irresponsible
To put it simply, MCPS and the BOE haven’t done their due diligence. To date, they have not initiated a Request for Proposals (RFP) for real grass to compare to the true monetary costs of plastic over the short and long-run in a very tight budget season. Nor have they fully considered the many health and environmental costs that are exacerbated by plastic turf (e.g. cost of cleaning up pollutants, costs of heat related illnesses in student athletes, cost of GHG emission from plastic production, use and disposal costs, etc.). Plastic turf is expensive with MCPS’ own estimates for new plastic turf estimated between $2.5-3.5 million and it generally has a usable life of just 8-10 years costing over $1 million to replace. Required maintenance and disposal makes it more expensive than well designed organically managed real grass fields with plastic turf costs going up exponentially as more time passes.
Further, the “Pay to Play” supported by private sports associations essentially privatizes our public athletic fields, limiting equal access to fields paid for by our tax dollars. There is an inherent conflict of interest tied to for-profit private sports associations’ and plastic industries’ push for more plastic turf.
Other recent scientific case-studies have conducted cost analyses over relevant time periods, including replacement and disposal of plastic turf over its life-cycle. These case-studies consistently demonstrate the higher costs of plastic turf compared to real grass. (See this Cost-Analysis and this Case-Study.)
MCPS’ budget constraints necessitate prioritizing needs and true cost-effective approaches to fund our schools based on up-to-date science, data, and equity. Primary prevention strategies to reduce environmental and chemical hazards have long-term monetary, health, and environmental benefits. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Equitably prioritizing our children’s health in their school environments where they learn, play, and grow is critical to our shared commitment to evidence-based decision-making to better protect MCPS students’ overall health and well-being.
Our Coalition
We represent environmental health organizations, scientists, healthcare providers, parents/caregivers, students, teachers, coaches, community members, and congregations. We are providing a few examples of local advocacy efforts in support of this coalition as well:
- Student Climate Action Council’s 2025 Artificial Turfs Report recommendations
- MCCPTA Resolution on Synthetic Turf: Citing Health, Safety, Environmental, and Fiscal Concerns
- MD Free State PTA’s Artificial Turf Resolution
- Montgomery County Sierra Club’s Position on Artificial Turf
- Petition for Natural Grass Fields for Montgomery County Public Schools
Below is a list of organizations signing on to our coalition advocating for healthy play spaces and a healthy planet for our kids. Collectively we represent tens of thousands of Montgomery County Residents. The public record holds significant correspondence from individual county residents, as well.
Organizations
- Diane Bild, MD, MPH, Beyond Plastics, Montgomery County, Maryland
- Karl Held, Action Now lead, Climate Coalition Montgomery County
- Amanda Farber, Co-chair, Conservation Montgomery
- Community for Natural Play Surfaces (CFNPS)
- Green Sanctuary of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring
- Heinz Weverink, Vice President for Advocacy, Montgomery County Council of Parent Teachers Associations
- Lee Langstaff, President, Montgomery Countryside Alliance
- Sturt Simon, Chair, Montgomery County Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions
- Carrie Witkop, Zero Waste Lead, Montgomery County Sierra Club
- Physician and Scientist Network Addressing Plastics and Health
- Timothy Whitehouse, Executive Director, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
- Diana Conway, President, Safe Healthy Playing Fields
- Lauren Greenberger, President, Sugarloaf Citizens Association
- Unitarian Universalist Association
- Carol Falk, President, West Montgomery County Citizens Association