Recycle your Old Balls – Help the Environment and Local Schools

As long-standing members will know we are constantly looking for ways to be more sustainable in the Club and to play our part in helping the environment. One such way we do this is through donating our used tennis balls to be recycled.

This was an initiative driven by colleague Ed Norris (an avid Squash player but he can also be found on the tennis courts) who recognised that as a Club we throw a lot of balls away! Whilst there were a few Labradors out there who were benefitting, he discovered an organisation called Recycaball, which recycles the balls and pays us 25p for every ball we send to them.

We have so far recycled two full sacks and have received £100 and are very close to having a third sack ready for collection. The money we get sent back to us will be used to fund a tennis project at a local school.  We are working on this and will share an update in due course.

The balls will be accepted by Recycaball provided they are not weather damaged, marked (e.g. with your initials), very discoloured, have damaged / frayed nap or have been worn down to a threadbare state. They also accept trainer balls and mini /low pressure balls if they are the dual coloured or coloured balls.

All tennis players know that modern balls do not last that long! So, when you notice that your tennis balls have come to the end of their playing life, please do donate them by placing them into the tennis bins you will see on Courts 1 and 3 indoors and on Court 4 outside.

Not only does this mean that the balls don’t end up in landfill but you will also be helping us support promote tennis in a local school and helping Recycaball to support their charities. In their latest annual report, Recycaball reported that they donated £9,788 to numerous charities (the full list is below).

It really is a great idea and you can find out more about the scheme and details of the balls they will and won’t accept here – Recycaball. Thank you for your help and support with this!

We are always looking for new sustainability initiatives so please do get in touch at [email protected] with any suggestions.

Full list of charities supported by Recycaball (for April 1^st 2020 to March 31^st 2021):  Make A Wish, Cancer Research UK, The British Heart Foundation, The Alzheimer’s Society, The National Autistic Society, The Parkinson’s Disease Society, CALM, Macmillan Cancer Support, Blue Elephant, Help for Heroes , Food bank Fundraising, The Stroke Association, ASYTST, NLAAS, Veterans Lifeline, The Tennis Foundation, Tennis First and Tennis For Free.  During the same period, they were also able to donate over 7,000 balls to:  Save the Children, NSPCC, Barnado’s, Under Privileged Nurseries/Schools, Children’s Homes, Rescue Centres, RSPCA, Police Dogs and Guide Dogs.