This article has several parts to it - including discussions around sport, climate, art, plastics in our environment + the efforts of individuals and organizations to raise awareness of environmental impacts and reduce negative impacts of the humble tennis ball and its packaging.
The Tennis Ball is not just an instrument of the game of Tennis.
They are dog balls, down balls, hit up against the wall balls, ball tag balls, PE class balls, throw and catch in the backyard balls, cheap from the $1 shop balls, at the bottom of the laundry tub ball, muscle massage balls, win the AO, Wimbledon, USA Open and Roland Garros Ball.
Lost Tennis Balls are often retrieved in playgrounds and parks, over the fence of a tennis club, in the school playground, in the gutter. All sorts of places!
Where’s the strangest place you’ve discovered a Lost Tennis Ball?
So, they are a source of joy, and well, frankly, quite a headache when they end up in our environment.
The Tennis Ball’s environmental impact score.
Well put it this way, it's not ACE.
It is estimated they can take 400 years to break down. They contain some natural components that will be absorbed back into our soils, but also nylon, additives and glues, which will not. As the impacts of plastics on natural systems, including our own, unravel before our eyes, keeping any synthetic and non compostable materials manufactured within a closed loop + eliminating manufacture of new materials from virgin materials including fossil fuel, is becoming increasingly more important.
If you are interested this is how Dunlop creates their ball.
So what to do?
Well the question is still out there, and some folks at least are publicly showing their working out, even if it is not perfect at this point in time, we can still give them some marks.
Here are some global activities that may be of interest.
Recycleball is a US based Tennis Ball Recycling group. They collect and sell used balls to dog owners, recycle balls into rubber crumb for use in tennis courts, equestrian turf, sidewalks, playground and traffic safety equipment. A partnership with Laykold will see balls collected heading into Tennis Court Surface construction, including balls from the US Open. Read More Here: https://www.laykold.com/news/recycleballs-2024 Recycleball estimate since 1874 the US has consumers 7.04 Billion Tennis Balls.
In Australia Wilson, ANZRP and the National Product Stewardship Scheme piloted “Game On Recycling” although it is on hold at the moment - you can find out what they did achieve in the piloting process here.
There are similar projects in other parts of the world. Including Recycaball, Dyuce and Renewaball.
Although none of these solutions are perfect, the intent to collect, recycle and make into something that can be used again is a starting point.
Renewaball goes the step further to create tennis & padel balls from the balls they collect. This means that (most of) the post consumer waste is not passed to another industry where (in)adequate end of life treatments are in place.
Another point that Renewable makes on their website is that the manufacture of most Tennis Balls occurs in SouthEast Asia. Every ball produced uses materials from all over the world. Worker conditions may be poor. The air miles|emissions of a ball are high and negative manufacturing impacts may be social as well as environmental.
As a consumer it matters what brand we buy, do they abide by the modern slavery act, packaging covenants, have environmental sustainability goals that include responsibility for pre-manufacture and manufacturing impacts, unit to consumer base impacts and post consumer waste.
Some companies are addressing ball sustainability in other ways - packaging being one.
Wilson’s Trinity Ball has been developed to be able to last outside of pressurized packaging (it means basically it bounces like new for a long time without being in a pressurized ball ‘can’) Here are the specs.
Fully recyclable package made from FSC-certified materials
Biodegradable package
5% of profits support worldwide sustainability efforts
Maintains its fresh ball feel 4x longer to reduce consumption and waste* (*Based upon out-of-container rebound loss over time versus leading pressurized tennis balls.)
You can read about Wilsons local sustainability in Australia here. Wilson is part of AMER Sports group and you can find out more about the whole group's environmental approach here (they own a lot of different brands including Arc’teryx).
When we talk manufacturing some more, a recent report by the BBC speaks to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) lifting its game and playing for our planet with an early stage, more sustainable prototype ball, ball lifecycles, and conversations to be had around rule adaptation for how frequently we here the call for “New Balls Please” at matches.
So some more on rules.
I am not sure of rules around the country, or around the world for that matter. And if I go for a hit I am definitely using the ball from the bottom of the laundry tub, but if you do compete, rules can often require you to pop the top on a new can of balls for every match.
Tennis Victoria, changed their Pennant competition rules in 2022, “Two new balls from the Tennis Australia approved ball list should be used for each rubber unless both teams agree to use used balls.” I haven’t seen the stats, but I hope with some publicity the number of new balls was reduced across the competition. Tennis Victoria continues to support sustainability through their Environment and Sustainability program.
But back to Tennis Balls.
At the 2024 AO an estimated 16,000 Dunlop ball tubes and 4km of racquet string offcuts separated and sent for dedicated recycling pilot. Separation of materials can be challenging and complexity was reduced through simplifying ball packaging.
Grand Slams including the AO donate balls to community clubs and coaches .
In August this year Tennis Australia became a partner with the Treadlightly to support clubs around Australia to participate in ball recycling.
The AO had many other environmental wins during the tournament (listed below). As Australia’s second (of 9) signatories to the UN Sports For Climate Action Framework they are raising the bar each year as they pilot and embed new ways of event delivery.
AO 2024 Sustainability
• The AO achieved a 99 per cent reduction in single use plastic bottles in player spaces including gyms, locker rooms and on-court. Single-use plastic was replaced with Waterdrop bottles and refill stations.
• More than 73,587 reusable items were washed including Green My Plate crockery, AO reusable cups, and Piper Heidsieck plastic champagne flutes.
• Over 750,000 eligible items (cans and bottles) collected via the new Victorian container deposit scheme for recycling.
• Estimated 16,000 Dunlop ball tubes and 4km of racquet string offcuts separated and sent for dedicated recycling pilot.
• 3,575 MWh of renewable energy certificates originated by Pacific Blue to account for 100% of the projected AO 2024 electricity consumption.
• One tonne of food was donated by vendors to support OzHarvest.
• 25 Trash Talkers helped fans separate their waste at five on-site recycling hubs.
And, back to Tennis Balls, and, the Art of Tennis (Balls…)
Public art installations, exhibitions and performance have, for 1000s of years, been reflective of the culture of the day. They speak to present or past day issues - how we have grown, where we are at, or where we want to be. This includes installations and exhibitions, placed based art (including ancient, indigenous) plays, spoken word, musicals and comedy.
In sport and climate you may recall the Melting Tennis Ball installed by Greenpeace in 2020 at Fed Square, or the Melted Gondola at the top of Aspen Mountain which both helps us visualize the impacts of global warming—and encourages us to act.
This image is of an art installation being prepared for its first viewing - Jewelry for Birrarung - crafted by artist Deb Fisher ‘from over 3000 lost tennis balls dyed and etched by the river, its rhythmic movements informed by the changing tides’.
Deb shows us that the Art of Tennis is more than scoring aces.
You can see it in person and hear from the artist during riverfest this September 2024 (1st, 8th, 14th and 21st) visit the Riverfest website for more information. https://riverfest.com.au/.
I will also be hosting an event during Riverfest - Sport + Waterways + A Ripple effect you can register through the riverfest website or here: https://events.humanitix.com/sport-water-ways-a-ripple-effect.
We will be looking at the impacts of sport and the opportunities to form intersectoral alliances and partnerships to reach more people, more often and in more places to value and act for waterways here in Australia, on, in and around these precious resources and places of play.
There is so much to be said even about the Humble Tennis Ball when it comes to the environment. If you have some Tennis and Sustainbilty news you’d like to share add it in the comments.
If we explore our supply chain in whatever industry we work, we can find smart people, entrepreneurs and innovators trying to find solutions. It might just be you.
I hope you get to see Jewelry of the Birrarung and love to see you at my event too.
Together we can dive into a better climate future and send some aces down the line.
#Riverfest #birrarungriverfest2024 #LoveYourYarra #regenerativesport #greenplanetsport @yarrariverkeeper @melbournewater @regenmelbourne #waterislife #sport4nature #sportforclimate #riversandsport #riverfest #iloverivers #rowinglife #canoelife #sustainablesport #sportforclimate #tennislife #recylcesport
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