“Tennis” and “sustainability” don’t often go together.
But in the US alone, 125 million tennis balls are tossed into landfills each year. That’s about 20,000 metric tons of rubber waste.
Serve2Sustain is a national student-led non-profit aimed at making tennis an eco-friendly sport.
And it’s led by teenagers, right here in Westport.
Serve2Sustain chapters work with local tennis clubs to collect used balls. They’re sent to a facility where machinery separates materials for reuse. They then go to RecycleBalls and Laykold, which supplies tennis courts for events like the US Open.
The companies grind the rubber into crumbs used to construct courts.
Student chapters raise money to cover the cost of shipping balls to recycling centers, and collects balls from local tennis clubs.
Serve2Sustain was founded by Staples High School junior Shreyas Gorre and Ari Fayne, a sophomore in Chicago. Both avid tennis player, they met through the Wharton Global Youth Program at the University of Pennsylvania, where they studied entrepreneurship.
Shreyas’ Staples friends (and Wrecker tennis teammates) Lucas Ceballos-Cala and Noah Wolff, are national vice presidents of operations and outreach, respectively.
Shreyas Gorre drops off used tennis balls, at the UPS Store.
The Staples chapter has partnered with Intensity Racquet Club and Westchester Tennis Center in Port Chester.
Every month, members pick up used tennis balls, and ship them off.
Looking ahead, they hope to add more clubs (and players) to help. To help, or ask questions, email serve2sustain@gmail.com. To donate, click here. To learn more about Serve2Sustain’s national operations, click here.
(“06880” is where Westport — and the environment, sports, and more — all meet. If you enjoy this hyper-local blog, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
Well done gents!
Definitely a need on the sister side…Pickleball balls are rampant these days. Outside of creating sculptures I don’t know how they are processed after use. I will reach out to my fellow alum. Go Wreckers!
What an admirable project! Lots of errant shots end up on North Compo where some courts are located.
Great idea! Why don’t you put a collection bin at the Longshore tennis courts. Let’s see if Jen Fava and Parks and Rec have the same commitment to improving our planet as you guys do. I’m sure the large # of players in my group would be happy to participate
Fantastic! Resourceful and essential. So glad to know this. Is there a local dropoff location?
I just “Love” this recycling project. Congratulations on this fantastic idea.
Way to go, Shreyas! Such an fine young person and student!