🍃 What do 400 million tennis balls have to do with sustainability?

Did you know?

Every year, 400 million tennis balls get served, smashed… and binned.

Only 1% ever gets recycled. The rest? Straight to landfill. It’s one of those quiet stats that rarely make headlines, but once you hear it, you can’t unhear it.

So what happens to all that rubber, felt, and compressed air? That’s where SoundBounce comes in with one of the smartest reuse stories I’ve come across lately.

SoundBounce collects used tennis balls from clubs and turns them into something completely different:

→ Acoustic furniture.

→ Sound dampening walls.

→ Curved panels for office spaces and buildings.

And it works. Really well.

One chair alone uses 515 used tennis balls and saves around 15 kg of CO₂ in the process.

Photo credit: Green Product Award website.

The big idea:

From sports waste to sustainable design without inventing anything new.

This is what circular innovation actually looks like.

It’s not always flashy. Sometimes, it’s just about thinking about overlooked materials in a new way.

And for business leaders, it’s a reminder:

Sustainability does not have to be about making massive changes all at once.

Focus on smart tweaks, good design, and asking better questions.

Tip of the week:

Here’s how to spot an opportunity hiding in plain sight:

1. List your most common waste items.
Start with what you toss out regularly. There’s usually a pattern.

2. Ask: What was this made for?
Materials often have hidden properties (like flexibility, insulation, and sound absorption).

3. Challenge assumptions.
Just because it used to be packaging or sports equipment doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.

4. Partner with innovators.
Start small and connect with startups, established businesses or local circular economy projects that are already doing this work.

5. Tell the story.
Customers love knowing they’re sitting on (or using) something that would’ve ended up in a bin.

The bottom line is, not every innovation needs a new invention.

Sometimes, all it takes is seeing old materials with a fresh perspective.

Would you like to continue this conversation? Send me a DM on LinkedIn or reply to this email.

Accelerate your impact journey

If you’re a business wanting to accelerate your impact journey, but struggle because it is too costly, then let’s talk. I can make your journey profitable.

I’m opening a few slots to speak with leaders who are serious about creating an impact and seeing the results over the next 6 to 18 months.

Just hit reply and tell me, in one sentence:

What’s the one outcome you’d love to achieve?

I’ll read every reply, and if I can help, I’ll get back to you personally.

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Every step we take together makes a bigger impact tomorrow!

Best,
Jasper