shades fills you in

The fake grass business is booming. BusinessWire predicts it’ll be a $5 billion+ market by 2027. Many like it because it’s low maintenance, doesn’t use water, and stays green

Hill-Horticulture says it’s great if you have pets. You don’t have those unsightly pee spots, and your pets won’t get all muddy when it rains

Heavenlygreens.com points to another benefit: Fake grass is softer than real grass. It doesn’t dry out and get all itchy

And according to SYNLawn, the real benefit is to the environment. It doesn’t need water, fertilizer, or pesticides; you don’t have to cut it, and it’s recyclable

The Guardian, however, isn’t convinced it’s all that eco-friendly. It destroys insect habitat and its production releases carbon. And, um, how can covering the ground with plastic be good for the earth?!

Another concern: It can melt! Flooringinc.com explains that sunlight reflecting off windows can sometimes overheat fake grass

And even if it doesn’t melt, it can get so hot it becomes unusable. The turf heats up so much that it literally melts the glue off soccer players’ cleats! -- CBC

But tech is improving. Southwest-Greens created “Hydro-Chill” turf that stores moisture and releases it when things start to get too hot

Global-syn-turf says the shape of the plastic fibers affects how hot fake grass gets. Changing the fibers can keep turf approximately 15 degrees cooler

Cronkite-News has another worry -- athletes who play on fake grass are more likely to suffer injuries. There’s less give when they plant their feet

But what about golf courses? Shouldn’t those water guzzlers switch to fake grass? Golf Digest says it’s not happening anytime soon. It’d cost a ton, and fake grass doesn’t handle golf swings very well