NEWBURYPORT – For the 125 million tennis balls that Americans throw away each year, there has to be a better solution than dumping them in landfills and generating 20,000 tons of methane gas.
To test if Recycleballs.org., a Vermont-based, non-profit organization, has come up with a better solution, members of the Newburyport Tennis Club on Low Street are recycling tennis balls, which can take 400 years to degrade.
Through the generosity of Lark Madden and his father, Martin Madden, a member, the tennis club is engaged in a six-month trial in partnership with Recycleballs.org.
When players are done with the yellow balls, instead of throwing them away, they put them in one of several green boxes. Each box holds about 100 balls, and once full, it will be sent postage-paid return to Recycle Balls in South Burlington, VT.
Routinely, players open a new can of tennis balls every time they play due to the rapid decline in pressure and the lack of consistency in previously played balls. Since the balls are not a major expense, costing $4 for three balls at the club, players often threw them away or toss them in the trunk of their car.
Wilson Sporting Goods is the nonprofit’s lead sponsor, and Recycle Balls has more than 4,000 individuals and clubs participating across the country. This organization was founded in 2016 by a tennis player who realized the cost of dumping used balls into landfills was too high.
RecycleBalls, which estimates 7.2 billion tennis balls have been sold since they were created in 1874, grinds them down and strips off the felt to make what it calls GREEN GOLD.
Green Gold goes into making an innovative surface on new hard courts. About 10,000 recycled balls will make the material to resurface a court that offers fantastic playability and are super durable. They also have better shock absorption compared to other types of courts.
But tennis court surfaces are not the only thing recycled balls are used for. The rubber is thrown in horse paddocks and arena surfaces and are used in running tracks, mulch for potted plants and in certain building materials, such as stucco on houses.
Don’t worry, the company knows its recycling tennis balls may cause dogs and their owners some heartburn. So RecycleBalls also offers “NO TRASH” dog balls. Dog caregivers can buy them on eBay and then return them for recycling at no charge.
This way, dogs can always have tennis balls to chase after. ♦
