Kingston Heath Reserve

Australia’s First Recycled Hockey Field

RE4ORM synthetic turf recycling – Rolls of artificial turf and black rubber mats are laid out on the Kingston Heath Reserve sports pitch, with benches and trees in the background, suggesting pitch renovation or maintenance work is underway.
Client:City of Kingston, VIC
Delivery Partner:Polytan
Project:Hockey
SECTOR: Local Government
ABOUT THE PROJECT

A Defining Moment for Circular Sport Infrastructure

City of Kingston is a local government authority in Melbourne’s south-east and one of Victoria’s largest owners of synthetic sports surfaces. With a growing portfolio of hockey and soccer fields approaching end-of-life, Kingston recognised early that landfill was not a sustainable long-term option. The council made a conscious decision to explore emerging recycling solutions and to lead rather than follow. Kingston Heath Reserve, home of Southern United Hockey Club, became the council’s first step into circular sports infrastructure.

6,143 m²

synthetic hockey field uplifted

115T

of synthetic turf recycled

31T

of SBR shock pad recycled

~42.9T

CO₂e avoided

The Challenge

This project was a genuine first for the industry.

At this stage of RE4ORM’s journey, the industry was still learning what was possible. City of Kingston and Polytan made a deliberate decision to back an emerging solution, knowing that innovation requires leadership. The key challenges were not about capability – they were about pioneering something new:

  • First hockey field ever recycled in Australia
  • First time a shock pad had ever been recycled
  • First use of truck-based transport, transitioning away from container-only logistics
  • Legacy installation issues, with all turf joins glued directly to the shock pad
  • An early-stage solution, requiring trust and a shared leap of faith
RE4ORM synthetic turf recycling – A close-up of a red piece of construction equipment with a claw-like attachment on the artificial turf pitch at Kingston Heath Reserve, with trees and a fence in the background.
The Solution

The team developed a truly bespoke uplift and recycling solution, tailored to the realities of the site and the legacy construction.

RE4ORM worked closely with both City of Kingston and Polytan, receiving strong support from both throughout planning and delivery.
RE4ORM synthetic turf recycling – Simple black and white line drawing of a trophy cup with two handles, sitting on a rectangular plinth.

Australia’s first hockey field recycling project

Australia’s first successful recycling of a synthetic hockey field, establishing a new industry benchmark.

RE4ORM synthetic turf recycling – A hand-drawn black circular arrow, reminiscent of the energy at Kareela Oval sports ground, with two arrowheads—one at the top right curving down and one at the bottom left curving up—forms a continuous loop on a white background.

Shock Pad Recovery & Reuse

Completed the first-ever recycling of an SBR shock pad beneath a hockey system.

RE4ORM synthetic turf recycling – Two overlapping sets of concentric circles, each with three rings, create a central intersection—visually representing "how we do it" through thoughtful design and clear structure.

Bespoke Uplift Methodology

Developed a custom approach to safely separate turf bonded directly to the shock pad.

RE4ORM synthetic turf recycling – Four simple black shapes on a white background: a circle, a square, a rounded-corner square, and an upside-down triangle arranged in a 2x2 grid.

Adaptive Infrastructure Strategy

Preserved the pad where possible and implemented full uplift where required.

RE4ORM synthetic turf recycling – A simple black outline of a five-pointed star on a white background, reminiscent of the clean designs often seen at Kareela Oval.

Integrated Transport & Reprocessing

Coordinated mixed logistics and shredded recovered SBR for reuse as base rubber in future surfaces.

Ready to Lead Rather Than Follow?

Kingston Heath Reserve shows what’s possible when councils take the first step toward circular sports infrastructure.