P-06-1535 Ban plastic mesh netting in grass turf in Wales

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This petition was submitted by Bleddyn Lake, having collected a total of 1,527 signatures.

Text of petition:

The practice of incorporating plastic mesh netting in grass turf has been an increasingly worrying development over the last few years. It has an awful effect on our environment, can lead to wildlife becoming caught up in the netting once it becomes exposed and is something that is simply not needed.
The plastic netting itself never actually goes away, it just breaks down into smaller and smaller microplastic particles, polluting our soil and releasing the chemicals contained in it.

Additional information:

Some turf producers use this plastic netting to save themselves money as they can lift the turf sooner rather than waiting for the grass root system to become fully established.
What they are actually doing is deliberately putting plastic into the soil at a time when we need to be taking urgent action to reduce our use of single use plastics.
The plastics industry is the fastest growing source of climate emissions in the world. It emits around 3.4% of world climate emissions and is forecast to rise to 19% by 2040 if we don’t tackle it now.
The UK Turfgrass Growers Association has recently voted to ban plastic netting in turf by its producers (which will take effect from 31st October 2026).
We call on Welsh Government to follow suit and amend housing regulations to ban the use of this turf in new housing developments in Wales.
https://www.dlf.co.uk/news/2025/january/tga-bans-plastic-netting-in-turfgrass-production

Status

This petition was considered completed by the Petitions Committee at its meeting on 06/10/2025.

Full details of the consideration of this petition by the Committee and related documents can be seen on the Meetings tab above.

It was first considered by the Petitions Committee on 06/10/2025.

Senedd Constituency and Region

• Cardiff West
• South Wales Central

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