LA students give sports balls another bounce, recycling record-breaking number to charity
The field at Reed Park in Santa Monica, California, USA was absolutely covered by a blanket of neon-coloured sports balls this Saturday, as a group of enthusiastic volunteers excitedly scooped them into giant containers meant for recycling.
To the sounds of a live DJ and lively chatter from their classmates, the teen-led organization Another Bounce had united with international nonprofit Habits of Waste (both USA) to attempt the Guinness World Records title for the most sports balls collected for recycling in 24 hours – and they were weighing the results of a months-long initiative to save thousands of used balls from landfills.
As the number on the scale gradually creeped up and up – eventually reaching a record-breaking total of 2,674 lb and 14.4 oz (1,213.32 kg) – the bags were nearly overflowing with the volume of roughly 22,000 items meant for tennis and pickleball.
Yet for these 13 students, coming from five local high schools, the attempt surpassed just a number on a scale. According to them, it actually serves as a visual representation of what our communities can do on a daily basis to help the planet.
“This world record is a powerful reminder of the enormous amount of waste generated by sports,” said Sheila Morovati, Founder and CEO of Habits of Waste. “By diverting more than 22,000 balls from landfill, we’re showing what’s possible when we rethink the systems we’ve come to accept as normal.
“This effort marks the beginning of a much bigger movement for sports sustainability, and we’re excited to harness the momentum of this record to raise awareness and advocate for the policies and infrastructure needed to make sports more sustainable globally.”
Despite the event’s world record status, it all started back in a classroom – as a small number of dedicated students brainstormed solutions to a problem that they noticed all the time on the courts.
“This began as a school project around social entrepreneurship, where one of my friends was frustrated with the amount of tennis and pickle balls that were being discarded each week during his lessons,” said Milan Ramesh, a junior board member of Another Bounce, in an interview with the Santa Monica Daily Press. “We came together and created Another Bounce to make change.”
He also told the paper that they started gathering balls eight months ago, after dropping containers at local courts for people to dispose of their used items. The response from the community was “enthusiastic”, and Milan said members were “relieved” to know that there was a recyclable option available that could later result in new balls, court surfaces, and other materials.
Racket ball waste is a major sustainability issue within the sport, as balls quickly go “flat” and lose their bounce. It’s estimated that 330 million tennis balls are produced worldwide each year, and when they are unusable they are often incinerated or sent to a landfill – where it takes their rubber 400+ years to decompose.
Read more stories about record-breaking athletes in our dedicated Sports and Fitness section!
The students’ solution was therefore to partner with different organizations to give these balls “another bounce” – namely, Habits of Waste and Ridwell, a specialized recycling company that can turn the used items into new pickleballs, or shred, wash, and pelletize them, to be turned into plastic feedstock.
The founder of Habits of Waste said that they’re “incredibly proud” of the teenagers for creating their programme, and added that their “hard work, passion, and determination made this record possible.”
After assembling all the balls into giant containers meant for recycling, the groups were thrilled to find out their efforts had paid off with a Guinness World Records title – and as Adjudicator Michael Empric took to the grassy stage, he was equally proud to present the students with a special certificate.
In all, they had saved over one tonne of balls for recycling – and in the future, we can’t wait to see what else these talented teens do for the environment!
So congratulations to everyone at Another Bounce and Habits of Waste – you are all Officially Amazing!
Header image: Aja Hitomi