{"id":674689,"date":"2026-03-22T22:44:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T22:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/674689\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T22:44:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T22:44:20","slug":"teens-tackle-waste-from-old-pickleballs-aiming-for-guinness-record-for-recycling-them-and-you-can-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/674689\/","title":{"rendered":"Teens Tackle Waste From Old Pickleballs, Aiming for Guinness Record for Recycling Them\u2013And You Can Help"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Teens form Another Bounce to collect tennis and pickleballs for recycling<\/p>\n

While most teenagers are focused on homework and weekend plans, twelve high school students from the Pacific Palisades community are confronting a global environmental issue hiding in plain sight: the estimated 500 million non-biodegradable tennis and pickleballs discarded into landfills each year.<\/p>\n

They launched Another Bounce<\/a> with an ambitious goal of setting a World Record for the most balls collected for recycling from racquet sports\u2014a campaign that will culminate in an Earth Day collection event on April 19.<\/p>\n

The group has partnered with Ridwell<\/a> in Los Angeles, which shreds, washes, and pelletizes the balls, which are then shipped to their partner Merlin Plastics.<\/p>\n

The recycled plastic is then used to create a variety of products: The pelletized post-consumer resin (PCR) ends up in various commercial and industrial products like nursery plant pots, carpeting, plastic packaging, and more.<\/p>\n

They also supply balls to a group in Florida called Bounce Back Pickle which breaks down the plastic to create new pickle balls\u2014avoiding the landfill waste that can take over 400 years to decompose.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, their youthful mission is to vigorously advocate for a circular model for tennis and pickle balls\u2014like computer manufactures have designed in partnership with electronics stores\u2014meaning, ball companies should create their own take back programs to ensure products are responsibly recycled at the end of their life.<\/p>\n

\"\"Another Bounce
\nSimple ways you can help<\/p>\n

The students have joined the California nonprofit Habits of Waste as the new \u2018Junior Board\u2019, and launched a public email campaign<\/a> calling on major ball manufacturers (Penn, Wilson, Franklin, Dunlop, and Selkirk) to implement circular business models, including national take-back programs<\/p>\n

\u201cYouth leadership is one of the most powerful forces for change,\u201d said the founder of Habits of Waste, Sheila Morovati, who landed in GNN\u2019s headlines in 2018 for setting her own Guinness World Record<\/a> for collecting over a million gently-used crayons to donate to 700 teachers.<\/p>\n

Sheila\u2019s son Leo, a varsity tennis player, is on the Board, along with Ford Casady, who\u2019s currently ranked the #1 Junior Pickleball Player nationally (U18), and his brother Boone, who rounds out their #1 US Junior Doubles Team (18U).<\/p>\n

After witnessing bins overflowing with discarded balls at courts across Southern California, the team of student athletes decided they would no longer sit on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

\"\"Another Bounce<\/p>\n

\u201cWe play the sport, we see the waste, and we aren\u2019t waiting for adults to fix it,\u201d said the 12 members who first came together while helping rebuild their community following the devastating Palisades Fire.<\/p>\n

Beyond collecting balls within a 30-mile radius of Pacific Palisades\u2014and nationally through shipped donations\u2014the students are speaking at City Council meetings in Beverly Hills, Burbank, Santa Monica, Malibu, Los Angeles, to advocate for ordinances requiring parks, schools, and private clubs to recycle tennis and pickleballs.<\/p>\n

They now have a warehouse in Santa Monica where people can ship balls if they want to help out nationally. (The address is: Habits of Waste Donation, 3000 31st St., Suite C
Santa Monica, CA 90405)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all very exciting,\u201d Sheila told GNN in an email.<\/p>\n

TEEN TITAN OF RECYCLING<\/strong>: Schoolboy With \u2018Can-Do\u2019 Attitude Has Recycled a Million Cans and Donated the Proceeds to Charity<\/a><\/p>\n

A Guinness Record in their future?<\/p>\n

Based on her research, the Guinness Record they must beat for the most tennis balls recycled is 1000, but there doesn\u2019t seem to be any record for pickle balls yet.<\/p>\n

\"\"Another Bounce recycling collection for tennis balls<\/p>\n

\u201cI will say that the kids are determined to set a substantial record so that they hold it for some time to come. Ultimately, the point of a world record is to raise awareness for issues, like ball waste, that people overlook everyday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow the group on Instagram @anotherbounce<\/a><\/p>\n

MORE RECYCLING HEROES:<\/strong>
\u2022 Engineering Student Turns Red Solo Cups into Stylish Sweaters That Don\u2019t Shed Microplastics<\/a>
\u2022 China\u2019s Dying EV Batteries and Solar Cells Are Powering a Circular Economy Worth $38 Billion per Year<\/a><\/p>\n

AND SHARE THE RECYCLING IDEA By Posting This for Pickleball Players on Social Media\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n