SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/27931
Facility&Operations | By Laura Pennino Recycling synthetic turf fields and infill material: case study F ATHER TERRENCE A. BAUM, a Jesuit priest and president of Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, MO clearly is a believer in the “seek and you shall find” and “ask and you shall receive” approach to life—and high school athletics! Father Baum asked for a new athletic field before the 2010-2011 academic season began. And he got it. Father Baum also asked that the old turf and infill be recycled. And he got that, too! The Rockhurst High School athletic program has been ranked by Sports Illustrated in recent years as one of the Top 10 high school athletic programs in the na- tion. Rockhurst has won 34 state championships in the past 10 years. The mission of the athletic program is to develop strong leaders through discipline, perseverance, and the pursuit of excellence through team sports and physical education activities. Here’s how prayers were answered and dreams were realized for Rockhurst High School administrators, staff and students when their multi-purpose athletic field was installed in only 17 days last summer. THE CHALLENGE Earlier last year, Father Baum, Rockhurst High School athletic director Peter Campbell, and director of facilities Delbert Conrad were faced with choosing be- tween repairing their existing athletic field and replac- >> EXTRACTING INFILL from the existing field at Rockhurst High School. MDH Turf tested, cleaned and recycled the infill using a proprietary technique. Six steps to recycling and replacing synthetic turf and Infill MANY OF THE 5,000-PLUS SYNTHETIC TURF FIELDS in North America are approaching the end of their useful life. Maintenance and repair costs are typically so high that upgrading with new turf and infill is usually the best option for facility owners and managers. MDH Turf, a subsidiary of McAnany Construction, offers six key steps for upgrading turf fields with an effective and progressive recycling solu- tion that the company calls “The Extreme Turf Makeover.” MDH has found that recycling turf and infill can save a client approximately 20% of the total budget on a new turf and infill installation project, reduce fuel consumption for transportation of the old turf and infill to landfill, and eliminate waste in landfills. The steps and timeframes outlined below are provided for a typical 100-yard football field based on MDH’s actual experience. 1 2 3 ASSESS THE FIELD CONDITION Evaluate the condition of existing infill, the grade of the field, condition of existing nail board, and any potential drainage issues. If needed, the general contractor or project owner will engage an archi- tect with athletic field design experience to assist with making adjust- ments to the grade of the field. Estimated timeframe: 2 days EXTRACT EXISTING INFILL Using an extraction device, remove all existing field infill. MDH has found that about 95% of the existing infill can be removed and reused; however, usually only about 2/3 of the original infill is avail- able for salvage due to infill loss over the 8-10 year life of a typical syn- thetic field. Estimated timeframe: 36 hours RECYCLE EXISTING INFILL Test the infill to ensure that it meets or exceeds GMAX stan- dards for adequate shock absorbency. Sieve the infill to sort out sand and other debris. Clean all extracted infill (MDH is able to remove 99% of all bacteria removed from contaminated infill through a patented cleaning method.) Estimated timeframe: 7 days 4 5 6 32 SportsTurf | April 2011 REMOVE EXISTING TURF Remove existing turf. Transport all sections of turf that is in good condition and make it available for other landscaping, sports or recreation applications. Ensure that the base grade of the field is in good condition and is free of infill spillage. Estimated timeframe: 2 days PREPARE THE FIELD Grade the field using laser equipment. Re-grade the subsur- face to meet field specifications. Repair the drainage system and nailers as needed. Secure certification from the architect and turf installa- tion crew that the requirements for the field are met and adjust the grad- ing of the field as needed. To expedite the preparation process, the contractor or project owner may choose to assign multiple work crews to various parts of the field. Estimated timeframe: 16 hours INSTALL NEW TURF AND RECYCLED INFILL Install new turf. Approximately 93,000 square feet of new turf is typically needed for a 100-yard football field. Stripe the field for use by multiple sports. Apply numbers. Insert home team logo. Add freshly recycled rubber infill and appropriate amount of new rubber infill to meet the needs of the field. Approximately 300,000 pounds of infill is typically needed for a 100-yard football field. Estimated timeframe: 10 to 12 days www.sportsturfonline.com