Field Chip “Greentea”, an artificial turf filler made from recycled used tea leaves
Mizuno is implementing a project to develop and sell artificial turf in order to provide a comfortable environment for sporting activities. It is also engaged in environmental conservation efforts through this project.
Mizuno and ITO EN, Ltd (https://www.itoen-global.com/). have jointly developed Field Chip “Greentea,” an artificial turf filler made by utilizing ITO EN’s proprietary “Used Tea Leaves Recycling System.” Field Chip “Greentea” has been available for sale since July 2018.
Field Chip “Greentea” is made by reusing tea leaves that are produced in process of manufacturing ITO EN’s tea beverages. As CO2 absorbed by the tea plants are accumulated within the used tea leaves, the use of Field Chip “Greentea” made from recycled used tea leaves is estimated to reduce approximately 4.3 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per football field.*
*Amount of carbon measured by Yanaco HCN Coder, model MT-700HCN (made by Yanaco Analytical Systems Inc.)
Moreover, as used tea leaves are green and have an uneven texture and fine pores, they are expected to be more effective in suppressing rises in surface temperature than regular artificial turf fillers. In two experiments conducted by irradiating simulated sunlight for approximately two hours each, it was demonstrated that Field Chip “Greentea” can suppress rises in surface temperature by approximately 7℃ compared to black rubber chip fillers. In addition, as Field Chip “Greentea” is made from resin containing used tea leaves, it does not produce the odor that is peculiar to rubber chips.
Results of experiments on effectiveness in suppressing increases in surface temperature (Experiments conducted in Mizuno’s environmental experiment laboratories)
A recent example is the use of Field Chip “Greentea” on the football field of Teikyo Nagaoka High School (Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture,Japan) (as of September 2022). This is the first case in Japan that Field Chip “Greentea” filler has been used to cover an entire football field.
Mizuno aims to grow its business through resolving social issues in order to realize a sustainable society. To that end, it is also engaged in efforts to reduce CO2 and other sustainability activities in the area of sporting environment improvement.
