Is there recycling for old tennis balls?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Diana Martin on May 2, 2011 at 10:35pm

I agree with Myiesha, my Uncle who's a physical therapist asks me for my old tennis balls. He puts them on the bottom of their walkers. Some people make art. If you look tennis art on a search engine, they've made tables, chairs and other stuff too.

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Permalink Reply by Tim Prapong on January 3, 2011 at 3:47pm

That sounds like the best idea, Myiesha. My mother used to work at a convalesent home.

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Permalink Reply by CoachV - William Vazquez on January 3, 2011 at 4:55pm

YES there is.

http://www.rebounces.com/

let them know coachv sent Ya

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Permalink Reply by Lendl Jr. (4.5) on January 3, 2011 at 8:13pm

Thats funny, i do the same thing!

Myiesha Simmons said:

i give mine to local senior centers and homes so the eldrly can put them on there walker so they can slide easier

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Permalink Reply by Alan Christiansen on May 10, 2011 at 9:17am

Up here in Canada they recycle them with old tires and put it in new ashphalt for paving highways, works good.

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Permalink Reply by Joe B. (BP, CA) on July 9, 2011 at 4:52am

There are devices out there that supposedly repressurize tennis balls.  My brother and I made a tank (fits about 80 or so balls) that I put the balls in, then pressurize with about 35-37 psi from my air compressor, and two days later, they're as hard (or harder) than the day I bought 'em.  You can wash 'em to fluff up the felt a bit, but it does wear off over time.  I have some balls that would be better suited for billiards than tennis, ha ha ha!  Admittedly, a really flat ball is hard to revive, but still possible.  I have to start with low pressure, then build up slowly.  I've saved balls that were at least two years old.

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Permalink Reply by Mark / The Mayor on July 11, 2011 at 4:35pm

Cool.  Does the pressurized air just seep back in through the ball wall just like it seeped out?  Can you post a picture of the device here in this thread?

M

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Permalink Reply by Joe B. (BP, CA) on July 11, 2011 at 5:43pm

It's not pretty, but I'm sure an artist can do better.  Unfortunately, it would require a bit of skill with metal works and welding to make.  We basically used a 7 gallon air tank you could buy from auto parts stores, and we cut a hole on one end to insert the balls.  I doubt anyone would really be interested in trying to make one, but if you do, I can walk you through the steps.  (Disclaimer:  If you do make one and market it, I will provide an address where royalties can be remitted, he he he!)  The air seeps through the rubber wall, which is porous to begin with.  It does take time for flatter balls, but with fairly new ones, the high pressure reduces the time considerably.  Just be careful about overpressurizing.  You can hear some balls "crumpling" as you pressurize the tank.

Attachments:

• Tennis ball pressurizer.jpg, 75 KB

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Permalink Reply by Alan Christiansen on July 11, 2011 at 9:48pm

Back in the late 70's and early 80's when i had tennis balls that went flat, I would put them in the oven at 150F for about 10 mins or so and this seemed to work fairly well. Although I would only use balls that still looked new and had just been sitting around awhile, because worn balls were not worth the time. My winters here only let me play from Apr- oct, so balls that sat over the winter months were the ones i used. Try it.

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Permalink Reply by patrick m on July 16, 2011 at 2:51am

Schools use them for the chairs, also if you want to sell them you could try ebay, you would be surprised what others are paying, fill a flat rate large priority box and see what you can get!

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