How the Learning Centre researches and reviews claims
Artificial turf information is full of slogans, category confusion, and studies quoted beyond their scope. This policy identifies who publishes the library, the commercial interest involved, how sources are used, what review has not occurred, and how corrections are handled.
Our source hierarchy
- Primary public sources: municipal bylaws and guidance, regulators, public-health agencies, official standards bodies, and original technical manuals.
- Evidence reviews: transparent reviews that describe search methods, study quality, uncertainty, and scope.
- Manufacturer evidence: current documents tied to the exact product, SKU, batch, test method, and intended application.
- Industry guidance: useful for terminology and practice, but identified as industry material rather than independent proof.
- Experience and inference: practical observations are labelled and never presented as a universal test result.
Publisher, authorship, review, and commercial interest
The publisher and current organizational author is Yard Guard Landscaping. YardGuard offers paid artificial turf consultation and installation services, so it has a direct commercial interest in the subject. Readers should account for that interest even when a page recommends an alternative to turf.
The library has not been independently reviewed in full by a licensed engineer, physician, veterinarian, toxicologist, lawyer, municipal official, laboratory, manufacturer, or standards body, and it does not imply that such review has occurred. Where one of those professions is needed, the page should say so and direct the reader to the responsible authority or a qualified professional. A named technical reviewer will be added only when the person’s identity, role, relevant qualifications, scope, review date, and conflicts can be published accurately.
How citations are attached to claims
Time-sensitive, health-related, legal, standards, and quantitative claims should link to their supporting source beside the claim. End-of-page source lists provide context but do not replace claim-level support. A citation should preserve the source’s jurisdiction, population, material, application, test conditions, edition, and uncertainty. Industry or manufacturer material is identified by source type and is not silently presented as independent evidence.
What we do with claims
| Claim type | What readers should receive |
|---|---|
| Measured fact | The method, unit, conditions, date, exact system tested, and relevant threshold. |
| Product declaration | The manufacturer, exact SKU, document date, scope, exclusions, and whether evidence was independently verified. |
| Public guidance | The responsible authority, jurisdiction, current link, and note that requirements can change. |
| Research conclusion | The population, exposure, surface type, uncertainty, and whether the evidence concerns sports fields or residential landscaping. |
| Property recommendation | The site observations and assumptions that make the recommendation reasonable for that address. |
Sports fields are not home lawns
Much of the published research and many test programmes concern large sports fields with specific infills, shock pads, maintenance, athlete exposure, and performance targets. That evidence may identify hazards, test methods, or design principles, but it does not automatically describe a small residential yard. We say when evidence is indirect and avoid converting a sports certification into a blanket residential safety or quality claim.
Terms we avoid without proof
- Maintenance-free, zero water, completely permeable, non-toxic, chemical-free, antimicrobial, hypoallergenic, or universally pet-safe.
- Guaranteed cooling, guaranteed drainage, guaranteed lifespan, or guaranteed savings.
- Recyclable without a named local collection, separation, processing, and destination route.
- Compliant, certified, tested, or approved without the standard, edition, laboratory, date, result, and product identity.
Review and correction practice
Guides display a review date and link important sources. Municipal pages, standards, product documents, and scientific conclusions can change. Material updates revise the review date. If a factual error is identified, the claim and every conclusion that depends on it should be reconsidered. Material corrections will be summarized in the revision record instead of being changed silently.
To report an error, unsupported claim, outdated source, or undisclosed conflict, email [email protected] with the page address, disputed wording, and supporting source. Commercial inquiries do not receive priority over correction reports.
| Date | Version | Material change |
|---|---|---|
| July 21, 2026 | 1.0 | Published the policy with source hierarchy, commercial disclosure, review limits, claim-level citation practice, correction contact, and revision tracking. |