A motorist has been left "absolutely amazed" upon seeing a council worker strimming a patch of artificial grass, and has since shared a photo of what he regards as "daftness" via social media.
Nigel Castle, 49, had been driving through Yeovil, Somerset on the morning of Thursday, April 7 when he clocked the worker trying to remove weeds that had grown up through the 'grass' by trimming away at it.
The Yeovil-based father-of-three tweeted the pic in the hopes of putting pressure on the council to get rid of the plastic grass altogether and opt for a more environmentally friendly solution.
He's also since backed a petition which calls for a complete ban on artificial grass being sold to residential addresses, emphasising, "covering our planet in plastic is not an option".
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Nigel, who works as an aircraft engineer, wrote: "Nature needs as much help as we can give it at this time of ecological crisis. Covering our planet in plastic is not an option
"For me, it's about the use of plastic grass which they shouldn't be using. It is terrible stuff - there are so many different choices that they could have used.
"Clover, for instance, is low maintenance. There's lots of plant cover that they could have put down that doesn't take a lot to maintain and is a lot better for wildlife".
Going forward, Nigel now wants to draw attention to the "nationwide issue" of plastic grass becoming more and more prevalent up and down the country.
He continued: "Too many people are putting plastic down in their gardens and they shouldn't be. It's got nothing for wildlife and all it does is it breaks down and ends up in the waterways. We are pumping far too much into the environment".
A South Somerset Council spokesperson said: "We are aware of the understandable concern caused by a recent photograph shared on Twitter and we thank the resident involved for raising this issue.
"First of all, we would like to offer sincere apologies to anyone who was upset by the image. The operative involved should not have been using a strimmer on this site. Weeding on this roundabout is instructed to be carried out by hand and additional training will be provided to ensure this does not happen again.
"Secondly, we would like to explain why artificial grass has been installed at this site. This is the only roundabout in South Somerset that we maintain where artificial grass is in place. It is not a decision that we took lightly.
"This roundabout was recently subject to much-needed major improvement work by Somerset County Council which increased traffic flow and traffic speed in this area. As such, the ability to access the roundabout to undertake maintenance (it was previously grass, and hand mown) became increasingly difficult and dangerous".
According to this spokesperson, the council was forced to decide how they could ensure the operative safety by "reducing the frequency of visits as well as the type of operation undertaken".
Wanting to still have "a green feel" within the design, the council, therefore, chose to use artificial turf as a one-off, with the spokesperson accepting that "this is in no way an ideal option but we also had to consider the safety of our crews".
They continued: "Our team, alongside teams from across the council, take our responsibility to the environment and tackling climate change extremely seriously.
"If you visit South Somerset, you will find multiple roundabouts, parks, and spaces where we work continuously to ensure wildflower growth and the establishment of pollinators which boost the local ecosystem".
In recent years, the issue of plastic use has been widely discussed, with the UK aiming to become carbon-neutral by 2050.
While energy consumption plays vital role in this, items such as conventional jewellery often also have substantial carbon footprints, according to Moissanite Rings and Jewelry, a company that sells ethically-made rings.
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