End-of-life routes
What actually happens to end-of-life artificial turf?
Not every end-of-life route is recycling.
- Collected ≠ Recycled
- Shredded ≠ Recycled
- Exported ≠ Recycled
- Final destination matters.
Removing infill, shredding turf or transporting it to a recycler does not by itself prove material recycling.
Where does every tonne actually go?
Plastic waste sorting for recycling
Lubongo, Cesar, and Paschalis Alexandridis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsWaste sorting station
Rhino Charge Kenya, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsShredded tyre rubber
Shuki, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsLandfill site
Dan Papworth, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsSkip container with mixed waste
The original uploader was Snowmanradio at English Wikipedia. (Original text: snowmanradio), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Route A
Reuse
- Field
- Removal
- Cleaning
- Reinstallation
Route B
Infill recovery + material recycling
- Field
- Removal
- Infill extraction
- Separation
- Polymer recovery
Route C
Shredding + agglomeration
- Field
- Removal
- Infill extraction
- Shredding
- Agglomeration
- Moulded product
Route D
Advanced separation + regranulation
- Field
- Beating
- Sand separation
- Washing
- Density separation
- Extrusion
- Regranulate
Route E
Infill removal + incineration
- Field
- Infill extraction
- Shredding
- Waste-to-energy
Route F
Landfill / disposal
- Field
- Removal
- Disposal
Route G
Storage / unknown
- Field
- Removal
- Storage
- Unknown
Three separate things
- Process step — a single technical operation such as shredding or washing.
- End-of-life route — the chain of steps a field follows after removal.
- Final destination — where each output material actually ends up.
Destination hierarchy
- 1. direct reuse
- 2. second life reuse
- 3. closed loop recycling
- 4. open loop recycling
- 5. downcycling
- 6. other material recovery
- 7. energy recovery
- 8. landfill disposal
- 9. storage
- 10. unknown
These categories describe what happened, not which outcome is better. Ranking requires evidence.
Closed loop must be proven
A route is only closed-loop recycling when the material returns into artificial turf yarn, backing, infill or another genuine turf component. PE from turf that becomes a pallet, board, profile, block or construction product is open-loop recycling or downcycling, depending on documented material quality and application.
Recorded routes
Direct reuse
Refurbishment / second-life processing
Infill recovery
Full mechanical material recycling
Shredding + agglomeration
Shredding without high-value separation
Energy recovery / incineration
Landfill / disposal
Storage / stockpiling
Export / cross-border processing
Legacy / proprietary systems
Unknown
Illegal and uncontrolled disposal is never listed as a normal industry route. Documented cases appear under Problems, and only with reliable evidence.
Evidence level on every process claim
- Permit verified
- Government verified
- Independently verified
- Company reported
- Technology supplier claim
- Industry source
- Estimated
- Unknown
Never assumed on this platform
- Collected = recycled
- Accepted by a recycler = recycled
- Infill removed = recycled
- Shredded = recycled
- Agglomerated = closed loop
- Exported = recycled
- Burned = material recycling
Where does every tonne actually go?