The tennis realm is faced with a burning environmental issue: the recycling of tennis balls. Worldwide, approximately 330 million tennis balls are manufactured yearly, most of which end in landfills; they take over 400 years to decompose there. This problem is particularly conspicuous during major tournaments like the U.S. Open, which uses up to 100,000 balls through the course of the event.
Tennis ball recycling takes a lot of effort because the design of the balls has scarcely changed since the year 1920. The surface of the ball is felt and it is glued to a rubber core. The glue makes it harder to separate felt and rubber, plus the felt itself, made of a wool and nylon mixture, can’t be recycled. Moreover, high-quality balls tend to use virgin rubber, which raises concerns about the deforestation issue.
On the international level, efforts are underway. The International Tennis Federation (ITF), for example, has created a working group concerned with possible solutions: fully recyclable balls and increasing the lifespan of balls actually used in competitions. Toward that end, Wilson Sporting Goods has introduced the Triniti ball that is built for durability with a durable core and tougher felt.
RecycleBalls is one of the nonprofit organizations also advancing efforts to the impact by collecting discarded and repurposing used tennis balls. They have set up collection boxes all over the U.S. and Canada, where balls are collected and sent to their warehouse. From there, some of the balls can be made into dog toys or chair protectors, while others are processed into granules for various applications, like in horse arena footing and above-mentioned tennis court surfaces.
Notwithstanding these initiatives, some challenges remain. The experts are strongly advocating for more companies using recycled rubber in their products, increase demand for repurposed materials. Others are proposing waste-to-energy plants as alternatives for landfills, although this alternative is hugely controversial because of the emissions that will be generated.
At last, the way forward is innovation and a commitment to sustainability from manufacturers. As Claire Arkin from the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives notes, companies must consider the entire lifecycle of their products. The call for redesigning tennis balls is getting much stronger, hinting that a change will come for more sustainable practices in the sport.