When the artificial turf pitch at MVV Maastricht was up for renewal the municipality asked the engineering consultancy, Newae make the tender, stipulating that not only should the pitch be processed at a facility recognized by the competent authority as referred to in the Environmental Management Act – all material also had to be cleaned and separated back into the original components namely backing, fiber, sand and rubber (SBR) infill.

Polytan, a major player in the turf industry, won the tender for the project which not only entailed the installing of a new artificial football pitch, but also the removal and recycling of the old one. For the recycling, Polytan engaged Re-Match for its patented recycling process.

The sand being the heaviest component and therefore the costliest to transport was sold to Polytan Denmark to be used as infill in local pitches – but the fibre and the rubber of batch 2507 was shipped back to the Netherlands where local companies would put it to good use in new production cycles.

The rubber went to Venlo where a company in the CEYES group would use it in its circular production of CE Green City panels which among other are used as panels for green roofs, Infra projects and vertical walls. The grass and plants growing on these panels absorb CO2 and retain rainwater – and when the panels reach the end of their life span – they are 100% recyclable. So, although the rubber did not find its way back into a pitch – it did come back to be re-used locally in a highly sustainable product.

As for the plastic fibre, its journey would end a little closer to a football pitch, as another innovative Dutch company, Lankhorst Engineered Products, uses recycled plastic fibre from Re-Match to produce the sideboards used to retain rubber granulate inside artificial turf pitches. These sideboard systems and other products made from recycled turf are then sold by the company GreenMatter thereby contributing to the continuous efforts of Dutch industry to ensure that pitches are made into sustainable and circular products.

So now, the fibre and rubber of batch 2507 has gone full circle – not only from the perspective of the material itself – but also in terms of its geographic origin. When Re-Match Nederland builds its factory, this circle will become even tighter. This means, that in the near future, when a worn-out pitch is ‘thrown out’ in the Netherlands – there’s a good chance that the material will boomerang.