Synthetic lawns will help houses comply with new water saving requirements
With all new housing developments in NSW now required to invest in water-saving technology that will reduce water usage by 40 percent (in line with BASIX regulations), synthetic lawns are fast becoming an easy way to comply with the strict new rules.

According to Sydney Water, watering lawns constituted 16.4% of total water usage in the Sydney basin in the year to July 2004. This is the second largest area of water use behind showering.

Bill Rorke, Managing Director of Pro-tech, the company behind the no-water synthetic lawn, which looks like real grass, said that given the amount of water that is used to maintain grass lawns, installing synthetic lawns into new properties is a great way of ensuring sustainable residential development.

“Our synthetic lawn has huge water-saving benefits that will assist with the procurement of BASIX Certificates for new residential developments in NSW and, from October 2005, for all housing alterations requiring a development application.

“Once the synthetic lawn is installed it requires no watering, virtually no maintenance, will last for at least ten years and depending on the area, costs less than a good quality paving installation,” said Bill.

Bellevale Homes has just installed synthetic lawns in the backyards of two display homes at their Nelsons Ridge village in Greystanes, which is one of the first water and energy efficient display villages in NSW.

Ray Brown, Building Manager at Bellevale Homes said that Pro-tech’s synthetic lawn assists them with fulfilling BASIX requirements because it doesn’t require watering.

“We encompass BASIX with open arms and anything that saves us from putting water on the ground is good.

“The synthetic lawn looks pristine during all seasons and from a distance it’s hard to tell that it isn’t a natural product, said Mr Brown.
The synthetic lawn system is based on a unique European concept, which has been brought to Australia by Pro-tech. Pro-tech uses the process of ‘fibrillation’ to split the fibres and give the lawn the grass-like look and feel.

The Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) was introduced by the NSW Government in July 2004 to promote sustainable residential development. BASIX is designed to assess the potential water and energy efficiency of new housing developments and ensure they comply with government targets to reduce water and energy usage.

By October 2005 all new residential dwellings and additions requiring a development application will also require a BASIX certificate.

Pro-tech is also the company behind the no-maintenance synthetic putting greens, one of which is in the Sydney home of Australian champion Peter O’Malley, who joins a host of international golfers to install the putting green, including Vijay Sing, Mark Calcavecchia, Sergio Garcia, Lee Janzen, Hale Irwin and Corey Paving to mention a few.

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Released for Pro-tech Corp by Dennis Rutzou Public Relations.
For further information please call David Lizzio
or Marie Tritsaris on (02) 9413 4244.