CEN publishes new standards

Three more European Standards have been published by the European Standards Committee (CEN). ESTC has played an important role in initiating and drafting these documents. CEN has announced that the following standards are now available for purchase: EN 17409 Surfaces for sports areas. Code of practice for the sampling of performance infills used within synthetic […]

TS prepares WG

Groundworks for a PEFCR Working Group have been laid, with the ESTC Technical Secretariat having finished the first phase of the project. The Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) project was initiated by the European Commission last year. It aims to establish official Life Cycle Assessment procedures for industry sectors. Following a thorough application process, […]

FIH latest affiliate member of ESTC

EMEA Synthetic Turf Council (ESTC) is pleased to announce that the Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FIH) has joined ESTC as an affiliate member. The affiliate membership enables FIH to interact directly with the synthetic turf industry and to participate in the various ESTC knowledge forums. ESTC Director General Stefan Diderich calls the membership a milestone […]

European Code of Practice

Following the decision by the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) to draft a restriction limiting the quantities of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) allowed in infill materials used in synthetic turf surfaces it became apparent to ESTC that there should be a pan-European method of sampling infills to allow testing to verify that they comply with the […]

ESTC environmental activities taking shape

ESTC has formed two new Working Groups that will each focus on specific aspects of the environment. The End-of-Use Working Group will focus solely on all aspects related to synthetic turf that will no longer be of use to its original owner. It will discuss and work on documentation related to the correct removal and […]

Support publication of the CEN guideline!

ESTC encourages you to reach out to your national standards organisation to notify them that you support the publication of ‘Guidance on how to minimise infill dispersion into the environment’ by the European Standards Committee. The support is essential as we understand that the European Chemical Agency’s Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) is likely to recommend […]

ESTC congress postponed until November

ESTC has decided to postpone its 2020 congress. With countries having implemented travel restrictions because of the coronavirus, hosting a conference with many members absent would defeat the purpose of the event. The new dates for the event will be 16 – 18 November. The congress will still take place at the Ambassadeur Hotel in […]

Telco on ST plans of World Rugby

Marc Douglas has accepted an invitation by the ESTC to host a conference call to explain plans World Rugby has to limit the environmental impact of synthetic turf. The new plans include reducing the pile length, more attention to the quality of the shockpad as well as a the enforcement of measures that will maintain […]

ECHA opinion delayed by 3 months

The European Chemical Agency (ECHA) has decided to take an extra three months to finalize its opinion on the proposed restriction on intentionally added microplastics. The consolidated opinion of ECHA’s Committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and Socio-economic Analysis (SEAC) is now expected in June this year. The standard 12 months reserved for the committees’ opinion […]