The way that's angled, doesn't it just immediately fill with water the first time it rains?
Why don't they just change the tennis regulations to only use biodegradable materials?
this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2026
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This is green washing no matter how you slice it. While it's an interesting idea, artificial refugia, like bat boxes or these balls, have to be very carefully designed so they don't have one of these negative outcomes:
- Act as a trap for the targeted species with regards to predators
- Kill the target species - often through thermal extremes
- Just don't get used by the target species
There's some good work about this on (fuck, fine rummaging for paper) Australian quolls
I actually reached out to Cowan to asks a few questions. He was pumped that we were citing his work and using it in reclamation planning as landscape enchantments.
Anyway, artificial refugia should, at best, be viewed as a temporary fix, or a way to layer habitat on the landscape, never a full substitution.
Not to mention that just leaving tennis balls out in the wild for wildlife means all that rubber and plastic and glue and whatnot leeching into the soil and environs.
I actually reached out to Cowan to asks a few questions. He was pumped that we were citing his work and using it in reclamation planning as landscape enchantments.
I'm in a completely different field, but there's nothing more awesome than seeing your work get used in real life situations that actually match up with your goals.
And people showing a genuine interest is a close second.
Thank you, I treasure comments like this! Does he weigh in on swift bricks anywhere? I do hope he likes those, at least.
I'd cheer to this but I put my nuts in a meatgrinder if these balls aren't as full of microplastics as my braincells
That's exactly my first thought. Whenever I see upcycled things that will just break down into microplastics in nature, I wince.
Your nuts are also full of microplastics
It's almost assured that your brain isn't filled with microplastics or at the very least much less than claimed. The study that claimed that was pretty flawed. As usual the sensational got media attention but the refuting studies did not.
I guess I can take apart the meatgrinder then
nuts dangling with reflief
It's for the best. You're nuts... will... thank you, I guess?
So we're just spreading trash in the environment and feeling good about it because it can be reused by other animals?
This just made me look up and learn about the environmental impact of tennis balls.
So we’re just spreading trash in the environment and feeling good about it because it can be reused by other animals?
Sometimes it just works. Small octopuses love to take up residence in a beer bottle. It might not be the prettiest thing to find on the ocean bottom but it's often home to one of the most intelligent invertebrates.
And, after all, that glass is just congealed sand.
"upcycled"
Plastic polution feel good story.
55000? Do they use a new one every....... uh.... s... serve? Is serve the word? Anyway, where does this huge number come from?
A professional tennis serve often reaches speeds up to 230km/h, with the fastest recorded being 263km/h. So yeah, the balls wear out quickly.
I just learnt that there are 660 matches. That's SIGNIFICANTLY more than I thought (I know nothing about tennis), the number of balls makes more sense now.
That's still about 100 balls per match
True but if I'm seeing this correctly and a match may consist of 3 (5?) sets of 6+ games of 4 points, that's already 72+ (120?) balls.
That's a new ball every serve
Yes. I know. That was my original question.
There’s also all the activity on the practice courts too.
My first thought as well.
This seems to be missed by... everyone here.
So do mine for similar reasons ifyouknowwhatimean
I didn't know this until recently, but tennis balls wear out quite fast. Not structurally, not the felt, but the air inside escapes with the extreme pressure they endure. And soon they don't bounce so well.
If only sports balls had a way to refill the air...
Or just set a rule that you use the same ball the entire match. Balls wears out? Tough titties... improvise, adapt, and overcome.
Child, this is Tennis were talking about. It's a rich people game. There's no time to worry about trivialities like protection of the environment.
Yeah, we better think of making some solid gold equipment for tennis
Imagine if professionals had to play like you and I did.
Not ideal conditions because who tf wanna go through 6,000 tennis balls in 1 day.
And it's bullshit, because so what if the ball is a bit less bouncy? It's less bouncy to your opponent too.
Or maybe sports could be pass times for normalsaurs to play. Instead of some insane culturally mandatory entertainment industry.
Wonder what the feasability of redesigning the tennis ball to be like those airless basketballs are
You will be glad to know that HOAs are almost unheard of in the UK and where they exist they're usually nothing more than an organisation for tending to the village green, common areas and sometimes library book boxes.
Though that’s usually a parish council matter instead.
What colour are tennis balls again?