In February, a group of high‑school athletes from across Los Angeles County founded Another Bounce, a student‑run initiative aimed at diverting used tennis balls and pickleballs from landfills. The project is overseen by the nonprofit Habits of Waste, and thirteen students serve on its junior board.
Why the project matters
According to United Nations data, more than 330 million tennis balls are discarded each year, with roughly 300 million ending up in landfills where they can take over 400 years to decompose. The students, all racket‑sport players, noticed the waste first‑hand during tournaments when balls were tossed aside after only a few uses.
Early steps and community partnerships
Boone Casady, a junior board member, recalled the moment he realized the scale of the problem: “I noticed how we would be using these balls in the tournaments, and the second they were done, they’d be thrown away and wouldn’t be used after that.”
Another Bounce quickly secured collection points at Riviera, Brentwood, Sherwood and Hillcrest country clubs, as well as at Santa Monica High School and Harvard‑Westlake School. The program partners with Ridwell, a specialty recycling company that sends the collected balls to recycling partners. Those partners process the rubber and felt components into new balls or plastic feedstock for other products.
City‑council engagement
Student leaders have taken the message to local government. Sheila Morovati, CEO of Habits of Waste, said the students have been “convincing city council members in the city of Malibu, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and the city of Los Angeles to actually create legislation and ordinances to make sure these balls do get recycled.”
Boone described his first council appearance: “I was a little bit nervous going up there and talking in front of the mayor and all of the council members, but I think we’re kind of getting the hang of it now and we’re getting better at public speaking.” After a presentation to the Malibu City Council on Aug. 24, Mayor Bruce Silverstein pledged support and asked the group to draft a formal ordinance.
Record‑setting collection effort
On Sept. 19, the students attempted a Guinness World Record for the most sports balls collected for recycling in 24 hours. Held at Reed Park in Santa Monica, they gathered over 22 000 tennis balls and pickleballs—more than 2 600 pounds—successfully setting the record.
“From the beginning of the day, just waking up, there was something in the air,” said senior Leo Mahmoodzadegan. Boone added, “When we had all the balls laid out, and we shattered the record by thousands of pounds, I was able to put it into perspective visually with how many balls we’d been collecting.”
Looking ahead
The team now aims to influence manufacturers to adopt take‑back programs, allowing customers to ship used balls back for recycling. “It doesn’t always have to be on us as individuals. What about the ball companies? How come they are not responsible for the end of life of their product?” Morovati asked.
Students also hope to expand the effort beyond tennis and pickleballs, eventually targeting baseballs, basketballs, volleyballs, and soccer balls, and to take the model international, perhaps even to the Olympic Games.
“If we could take it global and get more people all over the country and even all over the world to start recycling their sports balls, that would be a huge step for stewardship,” Boone said. The project demonstrates how young people can combine environmental stewardship with civic engagement, encouraging local governments to act and inspiring broader community participation.
Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.
