Did you know that more than 300 million tennis balls are produced each year, and that can translate to 18,750 tons of nonbiodegradable landfill waste? Well, there is some good news: One company has repurposed and reused more than 560,000 tennis balls since 2008. As a matter of fact, it was the first company to recycle tennis balls.
The company, reBounces, helps to “Put the Bounce Back in Your Balls” with its Green Tennis Machine (GTM), which is the first patented bulk repressurization system designed specifically for tennis professionals. One GTM can repressurize more than 40,000 balls per year, keeping more than 2 tons of waste out of the landfill annually in the process. The company also reuses all of the cardboard boxes it receives for shipping and recycles those that are too worn out to reuse.
The GTM is simple to use. The lifeless tennis balls are put into the GTM, the lid is closed, a button is pressed to initiate the charge and three days later, like-new tennis balls are ready for a match.
According to the reBounces website, “A reBounced ball has a standard rebound height that you would expect from a new ball out of a can and the bounce lasts from two to three weeks,” and tennis balls can be reBounced several times.
If you are not a tennis pro or your tennis club doesn’t have a GTM (and why doesn’t it?), you can still do your part to green the game. Don’t throw your old tennis balls away; send them to reBounces for free so they can be recycled responsibly. Contact reBounces and the company will send you a prepaid shipping label. To find out more about the reCycle program, fill out a contact form on the reBounces homepage.
There is also the option to buy repressurized balls directly from reBounces. You can even send your used tennis balls to reBounces to be repressurized and sent back to you. First Play Sports Tennis Camps has purchased 300 cases of repressurized balls from reBounces over the past three years, in turn saving the organization $5,000 and sparing 1.5 tons of landfill waste.
Even the balls sent to reBounces that are beyond repair are donated to schools and hospitals, where they are cut up and affixed to the feet of chairs and desks to prevent scratching the flooring. Every conservation step counts!
For more information, visit rebounces.com.
Green Your Game with reBounces
A pressurized regenerator prolongs the tennis ball life cycle, sparing landfills in the process.