An aerial view of a tennis court with two players, one on each side, and a black shadow of lighting equipment casting across the court. The court is green with white lines, and there are a few small tennis balls visible.

TENNIS BALL RECYCLING.ORG

Illustration of a tennis ball surrounded by a recycling symbol made of three green arrows.

LEARN ABOUT

Hi, my name is Luke Riley and I live in New Canaan, CT. In this beautiful town, there are many tennis clubs and lots of tennis players, including me. I play for my varsity tennis team at St. Luke’s School. I have loved playing tennis since I was five years old. My background in tennis inspired me to kick start this tennis ball recycling program in my community.

A young male tennis player standing outdoors on a paved surface, holding large clear plastic bags filled with bright yellow tennis balls, wearing a white tennis outfit and a t-shirt with 'St. Luke's Tennis' printed on it. There are cars and trees in the background.
A group of ten young male tennis players and their coach standing on an indoor tennis court, celebrating with a trophy. The players are wearing maroon and white tennis outfits and caps, some with their index fingers raised. The coach, in the center, is holding a wooden trophy with a horse figure on top.
A young boy stands on a tennis court holding a tennis racket, wearing a white tennis outfit and shoes, with a black fence and trees in the background.
Two large green recycling boxes labeled 'Recycle Balls' with arrows and QR codes, placed in front of a white shelving unit with framed awards and black-and-white photographs, and tennis balls on a wire basket to the left.

My initiative collects used tennis balls and sends them to a special recycling plant that can properly handle the unique material composition of tennis balls (synthetic rubber, felt - nylon and wool, glue).

I collect the balls and then ship them to the plant in boxes that look like the ones in the image to the left.

I partner with RecyleBalls.org - they send me the boxes, and I make sure they get filled and then I send them to the recycling plant. I am currently working with the New Canaan Raquet Club (NCRC), The Field Club of New Canaan, (NCFC) and Woodway Country Club to help them recycle their used tennis balls and keep them out of landfills!

Boxes are set up and sit in clubs-please look for them and help us to collect balls by donating your used tennis balls. I appreciate your support.

If you do not have access to the boxes at these clubs, please contact me and I can arrange for a pick up or drop off at a convenient location for you.

A lobby area with a white cubby shelf filled with neatly rolled white towels, a black recycling bin, a cardboard box of tennis balls, a blue box of pet supplies, a black rug, and a bulletin board on the wall. A window with a view into a room with golf clubs and tennis rackets can be seen.

As Featured on News12 CT (Click)

Certificate of recognition for recycling 5000 tennis balls, awarded by Recycle Balls to Luke Riley and tennisballrecycling.org, highlighting recycling achievements and the new green on tennis courts.

This initiative is important as tennis balls are detrimental to the environment, as they are largely non-biodegradable and take up enormous space in landfills without ever properly decomposing.

~125 million tennis balls are discarded annually.

Takes an average of 400 years for a single ball to decompose

Contact is below for any questions or inquiries. Thank you very much.