The hybrid grass pitch at BC Place Vancouver is currently being fully recycled. Removing and returning the field to its original producer is a first in world cup history.
BC Place Vancouver is a multipurpose venue that serves as a home ground to both the MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps and CFL club BC Lions. They prefer a full synthetic turf surface.
As FIFA didn’t allow synthetic turf for its world cup tournament this summer, the synthetic turf was covered by a hybrid pitch that was built from 38 millimetres of sand, a mix of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, and a compostable Australian base with synthetic fibres stitched into it.
The turf was grown at a sod supplier in nearby Abbotsford, British Columbia, before being installed in Vancouver in time for the opening match.
The blend of natural and synthetic materials produced a playing surface that drew praise from players throughout the tournament. But that same hybrid composition created a challenge once the tournament ended: since the stadium needed to revert to a fully synthetic pitch, the turf couldn’t simply be donated or reused as-is. The synthetic fibres first had to be separated from the natural components, which called for a new approach.
Separation process
Just hours after the venue’s final match, a team of groundskeepers cut the pitch into strips, rolled them up, and shipped them back to Bos Sod Farms Inc. Here it will remain for roughly twelve months.
During that time, the natural and synthetic materials will be separated from where the synthetic fibres will go through their own recycling process, while the natural material is repurposed to grow new turf and sod.
Other components, including the plastic crates and parts of the irrigation and drainage systems that were used in the subbase of the field, are also be repurposed.
A model for future tournaments
Gillian Orris, Sustainability Manager for FIFA Canada, notes this marks the first time a World Cup pitch has been recycled this way. She suggests the approach shows how recycling can become a standard part of a pitch’s lifecycle whenever temporary surfaces are needed for major sporting events in the future.
Orris also points out that an event of this scale inevitably carries an environmental footprint, and that initiatives like this one help keep sustainability front and centre while cutting down that impact.
The project at BC Place Vancouver shows how large-scale sporting events can take concrete steps to shrink their environmental footprint — and offers a blueprint for how organisers of future tournaments might handle temporary playing surfaces.
Share this article
Stay tuned
and receive all updates directly in your inbox
