Each statement: claim → public source → date → evidence label → limitation. Figures are shown separately and never added together.
DATA GAP · 2026 · unknown
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 remain visible and are not filled with internal market estimates.
DATA GAP · 2026 · unknown
CTE has not identified a current measured UK-wide annual end-of-life artificial-turf tonnage.
Limitation: No former internal model range is published as a public figure.
CTE METHODOLOGY DECISION · 2026 · unverified
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] sportni.net
CTE RESEARCH FINDING — PUBLIC SOURCES · 2026 public-source review · official_source_verified
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: This does not prove that Sportex is the only company handling artificial-turf materials in the UK.
Sources: [1] sportexgroup.co.uk [2] sapca.org.uk
Permit application — applicant process description · official_source_verified
Let's Recycle Artificial Grass Ltd applied to the Environment Agency (EPR/VP3926SM/A001) for a new bespoke permit to treat artificial grass by washing, separation, shredding and bagging into rubber, sand and plastic.
Limitation: Proposed process in a permit application, not a permitted operation.
Sources: [1] consult.environment-agency.gov.uk
Regulated facility address and grid reference · official_source_verified
The Environment Agency application documents give the site as Belvoir Business Park, Woolsthorpe Road, Nottinghamshire, NG13 0GN, National Grid Reference SK 81342 34940.
Limitation: Location of a proposed facility, not an operating site.
Sources: [1] consult.environment-agency.gov.uk
Permit status · official_source_verified
The GOV.UK / Environment Agency publication for permit application EPR/VP3926SM/A001 is marked WITHDRAWN. CTE classification: PERMIT APPLICATION WITHDRAWN — not operational, not a permitted facility, not counted as UK recycling capacity.
Limitation: Capacity and throughput unknown and not counted.
Sources: [1] consult.environment-agency.gov.uk
COMPANY OFFICIAL + COMPANIES HOUSE · current 2026 · company_reported
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. The map location is geocoded from the official regulatory 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 · company_reported
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
COMPANY-REPORTED ESTIMATED WASTE-DIVERSION EQUIVALENT — NOT THROUGHPUT · current public sources · company_reported
Sportex's own recycling page states that its 500,000 m²/year plant can prevent an estimated 12,500 tonnes/year of classified waste from entering landfill. CONFLICTING PUBLIC MASS-EQUIVALENT CLAIMS — NO VERIFIED TONNAGE THROUGHPUT AVAILABLE.
Limitation: Company-reported estimated waste-diversion equivalent — not throughput. Conflicts with the 17,500 t/year SAPCA figure; the two are not averaged and are not used to convert m².
Sources: [1] sportexgroup.co.uk
INDUSTRY-ASSOCIATION-PUBLISHED ESTIMATED WASTE-DIVERSION EQUIVALENT — NOT THROUGHPUT · industry_source
SAPCA's current Sportex Recycling member profile states an estimated 17,500 tonnes/year of classified waste prevented from entering landfill for the same 500,000 m²/year plant. CONFLICTING PUBLIC MASS-EQUIVALENT CLAIMS — NO VERIFIED TONNAGE THROUGHPUT AVAILABLE.
Limitation: Industry-association-published estimated waste-diversion equivalent — not throughput. Conflicts with the Sportex 12,500 t/year figure; not averaged.
Sources: [1] sapca.org.uk
DATA GAP · 2026 · unknown
CTE has not identified an independently verified current annual throughput figure for the Sportex Grangemouth recycling plant.
Limitation: Neither 500,000 m²/year nor either mass-equivalent figure is used as actual throughput.
Sources: [1] sportexgroup.co.uk [2] sapca.org.uk
COMPANY REPORTED + PUBLIC PROCUREMENT EVIDENCE · current public evidence · company_reported
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] contractsfinder.service.gov.uk
COMPANY REPORTED · current company reporting · company_reported
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 · company_reported
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 · unknown
CTE has not identified a current UK-wide public estimate for hybrid-turf EOL tonnage.
Limitation: Hybrid systems are kept as a separate stream.
DATA GAP · 2026 · unknown
CTE has not identified a current UK-wide public estimate for landscaping artificial-turf stock or annual EOL tonnage.
Limitation: Landscape volume is not inferred from sports-pitch datasets.
DATA GAP · 2026 · unknown
CTE has not identified a current UK-wide public estimate for leisure/recreation artificial-turf EOL tonnage.
Limitation: Leisure turf is not merged with sports infrastructure.
PUBLIC GOVERNMENT ANSWER · 2024 public reference · official_source_verified
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 · unknown
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 End-of-Waste decisions are recorded separately where public.
Sources: [1] gov.uk [2] naturalresources.wales [3] sepa.org.uk [4] daera-ni.gov.uk
OFFICIAL JURISDICTIONAL REGULATORY SOURCES · current 2026 · official_source_verified
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] gov.uk [2] naturalresources.wales [3] sepa.org.uk [4] daera-ni.gov.uk
OFFICIAL ENVIRONMENT AGENCY GUIDANCE · current 2026 · official_source_verified
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] gov.uk [2] gov.uk
OFFICIAL NRW GUIDANCE · current 2026 · official_source_verified
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 · official_source_verified
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: This means not identified in the current CTE source chain; it is not proof that no case-specific regulatory decision exists.
Sources: [1] sepa.org.uk
OFFICIAL DAERA/NIEA GUIDANCE · current 2026 · official_source_verified
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] daera-ni.gov.uk
OFFICIAL UK REACH + CTE RESEARCH FINDING · current 2026 · official_source_verified
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: Future UK REACH policy is not fixed; UK authorities continue to review chemical risks and may align with trusted jurisdictions.
Sources: [1] hse.gov.uk [2] gov.uk
OFFICIAL NI / UK JURISDICTIONAL SOURCES · current NI legal/policy context · official_source_verified
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: The NI/EU 2031 rule does not automatically apply to Great Britain.
Sources: [1] aims.niassembly.gov.uk [2] sportni.net [3] hse.gov.uk
OFFICIAL UK WASTE-SHIPMENT GUIDANCE · current 2026 · official_source_verified
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: EU Waste Shipment Regulation 2024/1157 is not the UK’s domestic post-Brexit shipment law, although it may govern the EU side of an EU–UK movement.
Sources: [1] gov.uk
DATA GAP / JURISDICTIONAL SCOPE · 2026 · unknown
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: No UK total is created by adding registers with different sports, pitch sizes, dates or eligibility criteria.
Sources: [1] footballfoundation.org.uk [2] sportni.net
SPORTS GOVERNING BODY — PROGRAMME REFERENCE · FA 2024-25 reporting · industry_reported
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: This is an FA programme/infrastructure delivery reference, not a complete current England stock count.
Sources: [1] thefa.com
OFFICIAL SPORTS REGISTER · current 2026 · official_source_verified
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 · official_source_verified
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 — underlying data from 2016; not a current 2026 inventory.
Sources: [1] sportni.net
DATA GAP · 2026 · unknown
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 · unknown
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] gov.uk
DATA GAP · 2026 · unknown
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] data.gov.uk
