It should come as no surprise that golf isn’t the most environmentally friendly sport. Of course there's need to clear natural vegitation for the fairways and putting greens when building a course, but that's an argument for another day.
Plenty of golf courses have begun reusing water and using less harmful fertilizers and pesticides. Now we can introduce eco-friendly bridges and boardwalks, and a state-of-the-art drainage system to filter out pollutants.
Axion Golf makes building material from 100 percent recycled waste, meaning no pollutants and less trash in landfills. The New Jersey-based company started off building green bridges and railroad structures for the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, Union Pacific, and Bay Area Rapid Transit, among others.
“There’s a proliferation of golf courses employing ‘green’ practices, and our company is the only provider of... 100-percent recycled materials for bridges,” says James Kerstein, Chief Executive Officer of Axion International.
The bridges have been tested for durability and promise to last more than 50 years with minimal wear and tear, which is a good sign for sustainability. Plus, the textured surface doesn’t absorb water, meaning less slippage and more safety. The structures boast minimal color fading, are impervious to moisture decay, fungus and insect infestation, and have no toxins – which eliminates pollution and helps preserve wildlife habitat.
Another way to prevent pollution may be to attach a filter cartridge to drainage pipes and retention pond outlets to filter out pollution before it reaches streams. Agricultural Research Service is testing the idea right now, and brings together three industries in the process – the turf industry, the drainage industry and the products industry. The cartridges are filled with water cleansers typical to those used in drinking water treatment plants and home aquariums. Researchers are also testing alum, a byproduct of the ammonia alum used for water purification, to improve the ability of fairway vegetative buffer areas to filter out pollutants before they reach the drainage pipe outlets. So far, they say tests have shown promising results.
Although this technology may not improve your golf game, it may relieve a bit of guilt about the sport, and improve the health of one of your favorite environments.
Plenty of golf courses have begun reusing water and using less harmful fertilizers and pesticides. Now we can introduce eco-friendly bridges and boardwalks, and a state-of-the-art drainage system to filter out pollutants.
Axion Golf makes building material from 100 percent recycled waste, meaning no pollutants and less trash in landfills. The New Jersey-based company started off building green bridges and railroad structures for the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, Union Pacific, and Bay Area Rapid Transit, among others.
“There’s a proliferation of golf courses employing ‘green’ practices, and our company is the only provider of... 100-percent recycled materials for bridges,” says James Kerstein, Chief Executive Officer of Axion International.
The bridges have been tested for durability and promise to last more than 50 years with minimal wear and tear, which is a good sign for sustainability. Plus, the textured surface doesn’t absorb water, meaning less slippage and more safety. The structures boast minimal color fading, are impervious to moisture decay, fungus and insect infestation, and have no toxins – which eliminates pollution and helps preserve wildlife habitat.
Another way to prevent pollution may be to attach a filter cartridge to drainage pipes and retention pond outlets to filter out pollution before it reaches streams. Agricultural Research Service is testing the idea right now, and brings together three industries in the process – the turf industry, the drainage industry and the products industry. The cartridges are filled with water cleansers typical to those used in drinking water treatment plants and home aquariums. Researchers are also testing alum, a byproduct of the ammonia alum used for water purification, to improve the ability of fairway vegetative buffer areas to filter out pollutants before they reach the drainage pipe outlets. So far, they say tests have shown promising results.
Although this technology may not improve your golf game, it may relieve a bit of guilt about the sport, and improve the health of one of your favorite environments.