The new synthetic turf field at Clickimin Leisure Complex in Lerwick, Scotland, will be finished with infill from corn residue. This will be the first time this type of organic infill is used in a country that actually favours SBR infill due to strong winds.

The construction project will see the site’s existing turf rugby pitch removed and replaced with a synthetic turf surface. To comply with World Rugby’s Regulation 22, a shock pad will be included to provide sufficient cushioning for the players.

According to a local publication, Shetland Island Council opted for corn infill because of its resistance to weathering and its drainage properties. The organic infill is also a futureproof alternative to polymeric infills. On the continent, the European Commission decided in late 2023 to ban the sale of polymeric infills from October 2031.

Although Scotland is no longer part of the EU since Brexit, legislators in the country appear to be in favour of adopting the same decision.

Big gamble

Infill from corn residue for synthetic turf is relatively new, but rugby clubs in France and the Netherlands appear to be pleased with the solution. What is interesting, though, is that a council in Scotland is now embracing the infill for a synthetic turf surface.

Earlier trials with organic infills in Scotland and Norway, a country that experiences similar weather conditions along the coast as Scotland does, yielded disappointing results. Strong winds blew the (lighter) material out of the surface.

Although Norwegian authorities were one of the driving forces behind the ban on the use of polymeric infills, disappointing experiments with organic alternatives have put the football community in the Scandinavian country back on the path of polymeric infills.

The future will tell how successful Scotland will be in maintaining the infill in its synthetic turf surface.