Growth opportunity?

26 August 2022

With the August bank holiday fast approaching for people in most parts of the UK, many will be considering projects in their gardens and outdoor spaces.  

During furlough many hirers reported booming demand for gardening and landscaping equipment as people improved their surroundings. Popular items included turf cutters as, ironically, householders chose to install artificial grass to create outdoor living spaces, but is the trend now coming full circle as people revert to the real thing? 

Recent press reports suggest that synthetic turf is growing out of favour because of environmental reasons. 

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) banned the material from its annual Chelsea Flower Show earlier this year because it believes real grass supports wildlife, cools the environment and can reduce the risk of flooding. 

Green campaigners also argue that plastic turf has a larger carbon footprint as it is made from fossil fuels and is difficult to recycle.

On the other side of the fence, advocates of artificial grass suggest that the product has plus-points. As plastic lawns need no mowing there is less electricity or petrol consumed, and no irrigation or fertilisers are needed.

However, synthetic grass can also fade, it requires cleaning and moss can grow between the fibres. Seams can also be affected by mould. And the plastic turf surfaces can become extremely hot in strong sunshine. 

So if there’s a trend towards replacing artificial grass with the real thing, that will create demand for equipment like breakers and skips to remove and dispose of concrete bases, followed by grounds care machinery from rotavators to mowers as the new turf takes shape. 

And that would be a growth opportunity for tool and equipment hirers. 

Photo: A Barreto rotavator from the Hire Supply Company.