Pickleball is booming. With millions of new players picking up paddles each year, the game is easy to love — but hard on the environment. Enter Ridwell.
"There's over 500 million pickleballs being created every single year, which translates to 77 million pounds of plastic waste," said Taylor Loewen with Ridwell, a doorstep recycling service known for collecting hard-to-recycle materials like batteries and plastic film.
Now, they're adding dead pickleballs to the list.
"If you are an elite-level player, maybe a pickleball can last for two or three hours," said Hunter Russell, head pro at Jumbo's Pickleball. Once the bounce is gone, most of those balls end up in landfills. Ridwell is offering a smarter solution.
"We're partnering with specialty recyclers including Merlin Plastics, Hydroblox, and Marble Plastics, giving new life to that plastic," Loewen said.
In a new pilot program, Ridwell has teamed up with Jumbo's Pickleball locations in Portland and Beaverton to make recycling even easier. Courts now double as collection points, with drop bins available through July 15.
"Jumbo's Pickleball was extremely happy to partner with Ridwell to recycle pickleballs, and make sure that we're caring for the environment," Russell said.
And there's no need to be a Ridwell member to pitch in — just bring your used pickleballs to the bin.
"It's this kind of continual push to find more items people feel guilty throwing away, and figuring out solutions, pairing them with domestic reuse and recyclers," Loewen said.
As for what your used pickleballs could become? Think plant pots, construction materials, or piping — definitely a better ending than the trash heap. And making us all feel a little less guilty for that love of one of America's fastest growing sports.
"There's lots to learn. It's fun when you first begin because you can get better real quick," Russell said of why the sport is so popular.
So whether you're a tournament-level smasher or just learning how to "punch it," this program gives your broken balls a second shot — off the court.
Source: https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/good-energy/pickleball-recycling-portland-beaverton-jumbos-ridwell/283-64ed3f74-6dfe-43ee-9df4-5cd7804a7e2f