No More Mowing!

ANCHOR LEAD:
HOW MUCH OF YOUR LIFE IS LOST TO YARD WORK?
IF YOU'RE LIKE MANY PEOPLE -THE ANSWER IS - 'TOO MUCH!'
WELL, PUT DOWN THE WEED-WACKER AND HEAR THIS.
WHAT USED TO BE A 'FASHION FAUX PAS' FOR LAWNS MAY NOW BE COMING INTO VOGUE.
FOR MORE AND MORE HOMEOWNERS - FAKE LAWNS ARE IN!
BUT IS SYNTHETIC GRASS A GOOD IDEA?
___ ___ HAS A HEADS UP.

TRACK ONE Length: 10
DIANNE BARNABA (BAR-NA-BA) WON'T HAVE TO MOW HER YARD TODAY.
IN FACT-SHE WON'T MOW-OR TRIM-OR WATER EVER AGAIN.
THAT'S BECAUSE HER LUSH LAWN - ISN'T REAL.

SOT
KEY @:11 Dianne Barnaba, Homeowner
"I love this lawn. It is one of the best decisions we ever made."

TRACK TWO Length: 10
AFTER FIGHTING WEEDS AND BROWN SPOTS AND DOGGIE DAMAGE WITH HER OLD YARD -
DIANNE INSTALLED "EASYTURF"-- ONE IN A NEW BREED OF FAKE LAWNS THAT LOOK ANYTHING BUT.

SOT
KEY @: NO KEY
"Synthetic turf, it's come so far. I remember seeing that Astroturf they used to have, and there's no comparison."

TRACK THREE Length: 09
NEW TECHNOLOGY HAS LED TO AN IMPRESSIVE CROP OF MOTHER NATURE 'KNOCK-OFFS'...
... GRASS THAT'S DOG-PROOF, KID-PROOF, DRAINS BETTER, AND IS MADE TO LAST.

SOT
KEY @: 40 David Hartman, President, Easyturf,Inc.
"It's designed for sports fields, and in a homeowner's backyard, it's really going to last indefinitely."

TRACK FOUR Length: 10
THIS SAMPLE SHOWS HOW THINGS STACK UP UNDERNEATH-
THE POLYETHYLENE BLADES ARE HELD IN PLACE BY A MIX OF SAND AND -WOULD YOU BELIEVE - RECYCLED TENNIS SHOES AND TIRES!

SOT
NO KEY
"An amazing number of tires that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill."

TRACK FIVE Length: 14
SOURCE: "Turf Producers International" Trade Ass'n
NOT EVERYONE IS A FAN....
CRITICS SAY REAL GRASS IS BEST BECAUSE IT KEEPS SURFACE TEMPERATURES DOWN -- AND PRODUCES OXYGEN THAT CLEANS THE AIR.
BUT HARTMAN SAYS HIS PRODUCT IS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY....IT SAVES WATER - AND REQUIRES NO FERTILIZERS.

SOT
NO KEY
"Homeowners with children don't want their children out playing in fertilizer."

TRACK SIX Length: 11
THE BEST OF THESE 'IMPOSTER' LAWNS DON'T COME CHEAP - EASYTURF STARTS AT AROUND TEN BUCKS A SQUARE FOOT.
BUT FOR THOSE SOWING THE SEEDS OF A NEW ERA IN LAWN 'CHIC' - IT MAY BE WORTH THE 'GREEN.'

SOT
NO KEY
"No weeds, no watering, no bugs, no pesticides, and no mowing, and trimming. What more could you ask for?"

ANCHOR TAG
MAINTENANCE FOR THESE LAWNS CONSISTS MAINLY OF USING A RAKE OR BLOWER TO REMOVE LEAVES AND DEBRIS.
SYNTHETIC LAWNS AREN'T AN OPTION FOR EVERY ONE.
SOME MUNICIPALITIES OR DEED-RESTRICTED COMMUNITIES MAY NOT ALLOW THEM.

SOURCE INFORMATION

FOR CLIENT-STATION USE ONLY
The information provided below is for client-station use only. It is provided to help you obtain answers to any additional questions you may have and to help you localize a story. This private contact information, including phone numbers, addresses and email addresses, cannot be given to viewers nor posted on your Website. It is for internal station use only. Any exceptions to this will be clearly noted. Thank you.

Dave Hartman
President, Easyturf,Inc.
750 Escondido, CA. 92029
866-EASY-TURF
http://www.Easyturf.com
(866) EASY-TURF
http://www.Fieldturf.com

Dave Hartman was among the first in the San Diego area to have high tech synthetic turf installed. Easyturf is the Southern California distributor of the brand, Fieldturf, which is a leader in providing synthetic playing fields for many NFL and major league baseball teams. The same product is used for residential lawns.

Extra Background Information:

Synthetic Turf Council
Ron Van Gelderen
President
(706) 270-6699
www.syntheticturfcouncil.org

The Synthetic Turf Council is a non-profit trade association which publishes guidelines for synthetic turf specifications, and is involved in education.

Turf Producers International
2 E. Main Street
East Dundee, Il. 60118
Bob Quinn
Communications Mgr.
(800)405-8873
www.turfgrasssod.org

Turf Producers International is a non-profit trade association designed to promote the use of natural turf, as opposed to synthetic.

The safety of using recycled rubber tires has been tested in various forms by independent laboratories. One test by Enviro-test Laboratory in Edmonton, Canada, investigated the environmental and human health risk of recycled tires in the form of ground cover for children's playgrounds. The assessment showed low risk of cancer-related illness and low risk of negative environmental impact.

SOURCE: "Toxological Evaluation for the Hazard Assessment of Tire Crumb"
July, 2002
Enviro-test Laboratory
ALS Environmental
9936 67th Ave.
Edmonton, AB. T6E OP5
(780)413-5227