Campaigners call for artificial grass tax

R.O.S.S.I said:
I don't see the issue with plastic lawns, if you don't buy the cheap rubbish they actually look and feel quite good. Stupid idea to tax it more imo.
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If you don't see the problem with fake plastic lawns then you need to educate yourself. https://www.jackwallington.com/17-r...-bad-is-artificial-grass-for-the-environment/

They should be banned, because the general public are stupid. It's the instagram generation gone wrong... everyone wants a perfectly green lawn and to hell with the wildlife and environment. Awful.
 
dLockers said:
It is a worthy cause tbh. What is odd is how people need educating that outside shouldn't look like inside.
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I'm pretty shocked at the responses here. I thought a set of relatively well-educated people on these forums ( :o ) would know better.
 
It's pretty sad looking at the Buddleia in the garden. Back in the 80s when I was a kid, they were absolutely covered in clouds of butterflies and insects. Now you're lucky to see one or two.

People have become too used to convenience over everything else. When crops start failing they'll be the first to whinge when food prices go through the roof.
 
chroniclard said:
Fake grass rules. :D
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We have fake Grass and it's been awesome mind you I did get some funny looks hoovering it :p

For pets/kids its brilliant, they can go out even in a downpour and come in not covered in mud haha :D
Minimal maintenance too, keeps nice and warm as well,
Ive had a good few naps on it lol

Hosepipe ban you say? Fake grass wont die
Leccy prices going bonkers? Fake Grass don't need cut
Heatwave? Fake grass wont go yellow

We've got planters with stuff for the bugs n bees and the front garden pretty much just goes wild.

I understand its not for everyone but it suits us :)
 
~Divine~Wind~ said:
We have fake Grass and it's been awesome mind you I did get some funny looks hoovering it :p

For pets/kids its brilliant, they can go out even in a downpour and come in not covered in mud haha :D
Minimal maintenance too, keeps nice and warm as well,
Ive had a good few naps on it lol

Hosepipe ban you say? Fake grass wont die
Leccy prices going bonkers? Fake Grass don't need cut
Heatwave? Fake grass wont go yellow

We've got planters with stuff for the bugs n bees and the front garden pretty much just goes wild.

I understand its not for everyone but it suits us :)
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Kids can go out in it unless its sunny and then it burns their feet.
 
dLockers said:
Kids can go out in it unless its sunny and then it burns their feet.
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I think you're grasping at straws there and haven't actually responded to any of the valid points in his post.

Parts of the country are currently under a hose pipe ban, so the grass is all going to die anyway. Ornamental lawns on the whole should be taxed / banned. Grass alone does very little for bio-diversity.

For the record I don't especially like astro-lawns either, I'd rate them on-par with a garden full of concrete or patio slabs but I can see why there is a big market for it. If artificial grass is to be taxed, then so should be patios and other materials used for them.
 
ci_newman said:
I think you're grasping at straws there and haven't actually responded to any of the valid points in his post.

Parts of the country are currently under a hose pipe ban, so the grass is all going to die anyway. Ornamental lawns on the whole should be taxed / banned. Grass alone does very little for bio-diversity.

For the record I don't especially like astro-lawns either, I'd rate them on-par with a garden full of concrete or patio slabs but I can see why there is a big market for it. If artificial grass is to be taxed, then so should be patios and other materials used for them.
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My friend has AstroTurf and it was uncomfortable for my 2 year old to walk on. We went there yesterday. What's your point? That's a tier 1 failure, the rest is just irrelevant.
 
dLockers said:
ci_newman said:
I think you're grasping at straws there and haven't actually responded to any of the valid points in his post.

Parts of the country are currently under a hose pipe ban, so the grass is all going to die anyway. Ornamental lawns on the whole should be taxed / banned. Grass alone does very little for bio-diversity.

For the record I don't especially like astro-lawns either, I'd rate them on-par with a garden full of concrete or patio slabs but I can see why there is a big market for it. If artificial grass is to be taxed, then so should be patios and other materials used for them.
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I'm currently selling the house so wont be taxed haha, but you're probably on the right lines there.
If any works are carried out that replace a current patch of grassed area they could apply a tax based on square metreage?

I will add the other like 30% of the garden is patio but It suits us and our family

I did build 2 sets of big chunky raised planters out of sleepers tho so we typically plant some bits n bobs in them and let the birds/bugs roam
The kids know not to kill/attack the insects/bugs hard job teaching the cats the same tho lol

You do have to bear in mind how much of an impact any additional tax will have.
Look at solar, there was a 20% VAT break on them... where did that saving go lol



dLockers said:
dLockers said:
Kids can go out in it unless its sunny and then it burns their feet.
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It doesn retain heat that well haha, we were actually told to check if the sun bounces off the windows and onto the floor.
Constant concentrated heat in a single spot can damage the lawn, and Ive had no more fireworks :(
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ci_newman said:
Parts of the country are currently under a hose pipe ban, so the grass is all going to die anyway.
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It doesn't die, it goes orange and first bit of decent rain it'll be green again. You never need to water a lawn.

ci_newman said:
Grass alone does very little for bio-diversity.
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Its a million times better than artificial though, personally I have eaten into the lawn space with more flowers and shrubs and generally created a real haven for insects and birds.
 
Pyr0m@nI@]{ said:
Just been quoted to have the garden done with turf, gravel, fencing etc. The quote was approx £5000 more for artificial grass.
I think we're just going for turf.
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Buy a bag of grass seed, feed the birds this autumn as well.

BTW, yes, it will be a green tax.
 
Hagar said:
Buy a bag of grass seed, feed the birds this autumn as well.
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If only :)
There's a lot more work to be done than just seeding the ground.
It's a real mess at the moment. Uneven, tree stumps etc.

I've been quoted for a total of 135m2 of turf, 66m2 paving, edging, 10 ton top soil, 4 ton gravel, I think it was 39m fencing with concrete posts & featheredge panels. and wagons to take away the rubbish of course
 
Scam said:
I'm pretty shocked at the responses here. I thought a set of relatively well-educated people on these forums ( :o ) would know better.
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I'm sure it's not great for the environment. But it just seems massively insignificant. It's not like people are rolling over huge swathes of the country with the stuff. It's a few townies who can't be arsed or are incapable of maintaining a living outdoor space.
 
Junglist said:
Good. I hate mowing the lawn it's a right pain but at the same time at least the rough parts of our garden are doing their tiny bit for biodiversity.

If I could be bothered and knew I'd do the upkeep, a clover lawn would be lovely.
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The trick here is to forget about the lawn and encourage moss. I have the best moss in Derbyshire :) :) :)
 
The house we just bought and moved in has artificial grass in the garden. I’m the only one here with green garden lol. I prefer real but I currently have no time or funds to get it redone and to be fair, it looks nice and it’s easy to keep tidy.
 
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