The final step if installation is infilling. The Motz team re-used the original Envirofill and installed it back into the new turf.
By Week 8, the replacement of Mariemont Highschool was substantially complete.
Rene Rodriguez, Field Superintendent and Adam Coleman, VP of Marketing & Innovation on site at the zero waste project
One area of waste the team struggled to find a home for was the glue buckets. The glue adhesive stuck to the plastic buckets did not allow for recycling.
A second material that was challenging to be 100% zero waste was the ends of the cardboard core pieces. The ends have plastic adhered to them making it difficult to separate the plastic and cardboard material which is needed for recycling.
The third material that did not find a perfect recycling solution was the rubber scraps from installing the re-used pad.
A Motz installation team member is seen here setting an inlay.
The Motz team members work together to install the end zone letters
Bags of plastic wrap and supersacks of turf scrap on site. The separation of materials is critical to enable recycling of each
The team delivered the excess plastic wrap from the Mariemont jobsite to Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub. The plastic will be transferred to a affiliated facility in Indiana to be recycled into diesel fuel.
Turf rolls come delivered wrapped in plastic and with a cardboard core in the middle of the roll which are being collected for recycling.
When turf is installed, there are scraps created when each roll is cut to fit in place. These scraps are being collected for future up-cycling.
The turf scraps are all collected into super sacks so they avoid the landfill.
Shown here are rubber pad scraps - during installation, some cutting of the pad was necessary. We are brainstorming ways this can be used instead of wasted.
The repurposed pad has now been installed back down on the field.
The new turf rolls have arrived on site.
The "Zero Waste Warriors" aka the installation team
The Motz Group team puts final touches on the base of the field during week four.
The reusable pad still sits on the track waiting to be re-installed while the field's base work is done.
The plywood boards allow equipment to move easily on and off the field.
The Motz Group finishes preparing the base during week four of the turf field replacement.
The supersacks of Envirofill are moved off the field to wait for reuse.
Envirofill supersacks on the side of the field waiting for reuse.
Moving large amounts of supersacks filled with infill does not always happen seamlessly. One bag broke resulting in a loss of some of the reclaimed Envirofill.
It's common for some infill to pass through the turf perforations during the life of the field and during turf removal. The crew uses a leaf blower to move any excess leftover infill into the base so it is still not wasted.
The Motz Group field crew uses the TRS Wrangler with the Winder attachment to roll up each strip of the rubber pad. The technique for removing pad will depend on the type of pad originally installed.
The rubber pad rolls are moved off to the side of the field with the TRS's Wrangler machine with the Winder attachment.
The rubber pad rolls are now sitting on the side of the field waiting for reuse.
The field crew begins by detaching the turf from the outer edge nailerboard
Each nail is removed by hand by the field crew to prep the field for removing the main components: infill, turf and pad.
The turf is cut into 45" strips with the TRS Viper with minimal disturbance to the pad and base. Then the Rattlesnake (pictured here) is used to push the turf strips through and extract the infill directly into supersacks.
The supersacks are eventually moved off of the field to clear the surface for the turf removal.
The TRS Wrangler with the Winder attachment is used to roll the turf strips which allows for a more easily handled turf roll size.
The turf rolls are then ready to load into a truck. Usually they are disposed of in dumpsters and the landfill. These rolls will be heading to Georgia to be recycled.