The Maryland Environment and Transportation Committee has released draft legislation (Maryland House Bill 131 Re: Chain of Custody) that would make turf producers and installers responsible for the removal and tracking of synthetic turf, once the field is to be replaced.

According to the Synthetic Turf Council, if enacted, this bill would make it “unnecessarily difficult for the industry to responsibly dispose of or recycle turf fields by imposing burdensome tracking requirements and complicated chain-of-custody disputes: disincentivizing turf owners from seeking recycling options.”

The STC has submitted written and oral testimony in opposition to HB 131.

In Europe the responsibility of the removal and tracking of synthetic turf, once the field is to be replaced, resides with the owner of the field. This is often the municipality or the club. Contrary to popular believe, this responsibility (the ‘duty of care’) only ends once the the field has been processed by a legal entity and in accordance with the relevant legislation.