Circular Turf Europe methodology
Circular Turf Europe records what can be evidenced, and marks everything else as unknown. Collection, treatment and claimed recycling are kept separate from the actual final destination of each material stream.
We distinguish collection, treatment and claimed recycling from the actual final destination of each material stream.
Stages we distinguish
- 1. Collection
- 2. Pre-treatment
- 3. Processing
- 4. Reuse
- 5. Recycling
- 6. Recovery
- 7. Disposal
- 8. Storage
- 9. Export
- 10. Final destination
Why final destination matters
A facility may receive artificial turf without all materials ultimately being recycled. Only the documented final destination shows what happened to each fraction.
What we record, where evidence exists
- Input tonnes
- Process steps
- Output tonnes
- Material quality
- Next destination
- Final application
- Final treatment route
- Evidence level
Standard terminology
We do not publish “100% recycled” unless the figure is evidenced and its definition is explicit.
Avoided: 100% recycled
- 100% collected
- 100% processed
- X% material reused
- X% material recycled
- X% energy recovered
- X% disposed
- X% stored
- X% unknown
Where only a company claim exists, the figure is published as a company-reported recycling rate, never as an independently verified result.
Export
- Country of origin
- Receiving country
- Receiving facility
- Processing route
- Output
- Final destination
Export is a transport step, not an end-of-life outcome. Where the final destination is not documented, it is published as Unknown.
Reuse is not recycling
Turf removed from a field, cleaned and reinstalled elsewhere is classified as reuse, not recycling. This distinction is held in the data model, not only in the text.
Shredding and agglomeration are process steps
After shredding, material can follow sorting, washing, agglomeration, extrusion, regranulation, composite production, energy recovery, disposal, export, storage or an unknown route. Agglomeration is described as recycling only once the input material, contamination, agglomerate quality, end user and final application are documented.