Artificial turf recycling in United Kingdom

Each statement: claim → public source → date → evidence label → limitation. Figures are shown separately and never added together.

• DATA GAP · 2026

  The main remaining UK evidence gaps are a harmonised current four-nation turf stock, measured annual EOL tonnage, verified actual recycling throughput, route shares, turf-specific cross-border tonnage and final destinations by material stream.

  Limitation: These gaps should remain visible rather than being filled from internal market estimates.

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a current measured UK-wide annual end-of-life artificial-turf tonnage.

  Limitation: Do not publish the former internal UK model range as a public fact.

• CTE METHODOLOGY DECISION · 2026

  CTE does not publish a UK-wide stock-turnover EOL tonnage model at this stage because current pitch-stock data are not harmonised across the four UK nations.

  Limitation: Unknown is preferred over combining non-comparable national datasets.

  Sources: [1] footballfoundation.org.uk [2] www.sportni.net

• CTE RESEARCH FINDING — PUBLIC SOURCES · 2026 public-source review

  In the current CTE public-source chain, Sportex Grangemouth is the specialist UK full-field artificial-turf recycling plant with the clearest publicly documented current capacity; CTE has not yet verified a comprehensive UK list of all part-stream processors and take-back services.

  Limitation: Do not interpret this as proof that Sportex is the only company handling artificial-turf materials in the UK.

  Sources: [1] sportexgroup.co.uk [2] sapca.org.uk

• COMPANY OFFICIAL + COMPANIES HOUSE · current 2026

  Sportex Group operates a specialist full-field synthetic-sports-surface recycling plant at 13–17 Abbotsinch Road, Grangemouth, Scotland, FK3 9UX; Companies House lists Sportex Group Limited as active at that address.

  Limitation: This establishes current operator/address status. For mapping, use GEOCODED FROM VERIFIED STREET ADDRESS. It does not establish licensed capacity or actual throughput.

  Sources: [1] sportexgroup.co.uk [2] find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

• COMPANY-REPORTED INSTALLED CAPACITY · current company statement

  Sportex states that its Grangemouth plant can process up to 500,000 m² of synthetic turf per year.

  Limitation: Installed/nameplate capacity is not actual annual throughput.

  Sources: [1] sportexgroup.co.uk [2] sapca.org.uk

• CONFLICTING COMPANY / INDUSTRY CLAIMS · current public sources

  Public sources disagree on the mass equivalent associated with Sportex's 500,000 m²/year capacity: the company website states an estimated 12,500 tonnes/year of waste avoided, while SAPCA's current member profile states 17,500 tonnes/year.

  Limitation: Do not select one as verified throughput. Keep the conflict visible and separate from capacity in m²/year.

  Sources: [1] sportexgroup.co.uk [2] sapca.org.uk

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified an independently verified current annual throughput figure for the Sportex Grangemouth recycling plant.

  Limitation: Do not use 500,000 m²/year or either mass-equivalent claim as actual throughput.

  Sources: [1] sportexgroup.co.uk [2] sapca.org.uk

• COMPANY REPORTED + PUBLIC PROCUREMENT EVIDENCE · current public evidence

  Sportex publicly describes separation and cleaning of rubber and sand, turf shredding/cleaning and plastics processing; public procurement evidence also documents transport of removed turf to Grangemouth for recovery of sand, rubber and plastic.

  Limitation: Process description is supported; yield and mass balance remain unverified.

  Sources: [1] sportexgroup.co.uk [2] www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk

• COMPANY REPORTED · current company reporting

  Sportex publicly states that recovered rubber and sand can be cleaned and reused in synthetic-turf installations and that recovered plastic can be made into products such as recycled plastic kickboards.

  Limitation: These are publicly stated output/application routes, not an independently verified buyer-by-buyer annual mass balance.

  Sources: [1] sportexgroup.co.uk [2] sapca.org.uk

• COMPANY REPORTED · current company statement

  Sportex describes its service as recycling 100% of end-of-life synthetic sports pitches; CTE records this only as a company claim and does not convert it into an independently verified 100% material-recycling rate.

  Limitation: CTE requires a documented mass balance and final destinations before using a verified material-recycling percentage.

  Sources: [1] sportexgroup.co.uk

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a current UK-wide public estimate for hybrid-turf EOL tonnage.

  Limitation: Keep hybrid systems as a separate stream.

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a current UK-wide public estimate for landscaping artificial-turf stock or annual EOL tonnage.

  Limitation: Do not infer landscape volume from sports-pitch datasets.

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a current UK-wide public estimate for leisure/recreation artificial-turf EOL tonnage.

  Limitation: Do not merge leisure with sports infrastructure.

• PUBLIC GOVERNMENT ANSWER · 2024 public reference

  Northern Ireland's Department for Communities cited a typical properly maintained 3G pitch life of around 10 years in its 2024 written answer.

  Limitation: Planning reference, not a universal UK lifetime for every synthetic-surface type.

  Sources: [1] aims.niassembly.gov.uk

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a UK-wide artificial-turf secondary-material quality passport covering recovered sand, rubber/TPE/EPDM and PE/PP fractions.

  Limitation: Company product specifications and jurisdiction-specific EoW decisions should be recorded separately where public.

  Sources: [1] www.gov.uk [2] naturalresources.wales [3] www.sepa.org.uk [4] www.daera-ni.gov.uk

• OFFICIAL JURISDICTIONAL REGULATORY SOURCES · current 2026

  End-of-Waste implementation in the UK is jurisdiction-specific; England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate regulators and guidance routes, so CTE does not apply one turf-specific UK-wide EoW decision.

  Limitation: No artificial-turf-specific UK-wide End-of-Waste framework has been identified in this source chain.

  Sources: [1] www.gov.uk [2] naturalresources.wales [3] www.sepa.org.uk [4] www.daera-ni.gov.uk

• OFFICIAL ENVIRONMENT AGENCY GUIDANCE · current 2026

  In England, a material may meet End-of-Waste through the applicable legal test; the Environment Agency also operates a definition-of-waste service that can give an opinion on waste, by-product or End-of-Waste status.

  Limitation: No artificial-turf-specific England resource framework has been identified in this source chain.

  Sources: [1] www.gov.uk [2] www.gov.uk

• OFFICIAL NRW GUIDANCE · current 2026

  Natural Resources Wales states that End-of-Waste can normally be demonstrated through End-of-Waste regulations, an applicable quality protocol or individual case-by-case assessment.

  Limitation: No artificial-turf-specific Welsh quality protocol has been identified in this source chain.

  Sources: [1] naturalresources.wales

• OFFICIAL SEPA GUIDANCE / CTE RESEARCH FINDING · current 2026

  Scotland applies SEPA waste-status and End-of-Waste principles through Scottish environmental regulation and material/process-specific guidance; CTE has not identified an artificial-turf-specific Scottish EoW position in the current source chain.

  Limitation: Phrase as not identified in the current CTE source chain, not as proof that no case-specific regulatory decision exists.

  Sources: [1] www.sepa.org.uk

• OFFICIAL DAERA/NIEA GUIDANCE · current 2026

  NIEA/DAERA states that End-of-Waste can be established via applicable regulations, quality protocols or a successful determination; the bespoke NIEA End-of-Waste submission service has been suspended since February 2025 due to resourcing constraints.

  Limitation: Service suspension does not mean End-of-Waste is legally impossible; the guidance describes alternative applicable routes.

  Sources: [1] www.daera-ni.gov.uk

• OFFICIAL UK REACH + CTE RESEARCH FINDING · current 2026

  Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) is governed by UK REACH, which operates independently from EU REACH. CTE has not identified an enacted GB equivalent of the EU 17 October 2031 granular-infill restriction in the current 2026 source chain.

  Limitation: Do not imply future UK REACH policy is fixed; UK authorities continue to review chemical risks and may align with trusted jurisdictions.

  Sources: [1] www.hse.gov.uk [2] www.gov.uk

• OFFICIAL NI / UK JURISDICTIONAL SOURCES · current NI legal/policy context

  Northern Ireland remains subject to EU REACH for this issue under current arrangements; public NI sources state that the granular polymeric-infill placing-on-market restriction becomes effective in October 2031, with no immediate requirement to remove existing rubber-crumb pitches.

  Limitation: Do not apply the NI/EU 2031 rule automatically to Great Britain.

  Sources: [1] aims.niassembly.gov.uk [2] www.sportni.net [3] www.hse.gov.uk

• OFFICIAL UK WASTE-SHIPMENT GUIDANCE · current 2026

  UK international waste shipments are governed by the UK's assimilated waste-shipment regime and related UK regulations; movements must also satisfy the rules of destination and transit countries.

  Limitation: Do not describe the EU Waste Shipment Regulation 2024/1157 as the UK's domestic post-Brexit shipment law, although it may govern the EU side of an EU-UK movement.

  Sources: [1] www.gov.uk

• DATA GAP / JURISDICTIONAL SCOPE · 2026

  CTE has not identified one harmonised current UK-wide count of artificial-turf sports fields covering England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on a consistent scope.

  Limitation: Do not create a UK total by adding registers with different sports, pitch sizes, dates or eligibility criteria.

  Sources: [1] footballfoundation.org.uk [2] www.sportni.net

• SPORTS GOVERNING BODY — PROGRAMME REFERENCE · FA 2024-25 reporting

  The FA's 2024-25 annual reporting states that more than 1,900 3G pitches have been delivered nationwide through its infrastructure programme context.

  Limitation: Do not present this as the complete current England all-sport/artificial-turf stock; it is a programme/infrastructure delivery reference.

  Sources: [1] www.thefa.com

• OFFICIAL SPORTS REGISTER · current 2026

  The Football Foundation maintains an England 3G Pitch Register for pitches meeting FA standards, but CTE does not treat that register as a complete all-sport or all-artificial-turf national inventory.

  Limitation: Register scope is governed by FA eligibility/testing standards and excludes other synthetic-surface categories.

  Sources: [1] footballfoundation.org.uk

• PUBLIC SPORTS AGENCY — HISTORICAL INVENTORY · 2016 data reported in 2023

  Sport NI's 2023 microplastics paper reported 171 third-generation synthetic pitches in its Active Places database, but explicitly states the underlying facility data were accurate as of 2016.

  Limitation: Historical Northern Ireland inventory only; do not present 171 as a current 2026 figure.

  Sources: [1] www.sportni.net

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not yet identified a current harmonised public national count for all artificial-turf sports pitches in Scotland or Wales suitable for direct aggregation into a UK total.

  Limitation: Facility-level and sport-specific public sources exist, but are not yet a comparable national all-stream count.

• CLASSIFICATION CAUTION / DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified one UK-wide artificial-turf-specific waste code that can be applied universally to every removed turf system or separated fraction.

  Limitation: Waste classification must follow actual composition, treatment stage, destination and the competent regulator's framework.

  Sources: [1] www.gov.uk

• DATA GAP · 2026

  CTE has not identified a current UK-wide annual tonnage specifically for end-of-life artificial turf exported or imported in 2026.

  Limitation: The public shipment datasets are not currently sufficient to isolate a complete UK artificial-turf-specific annual flow.

  Sources: [1] www.data.gov.uk