As pickleball continues its rapid rise in popularity, a Dorset manufacturer is helping tackle an unexpected environmental challenge – what to do with the sport’s broken plastic balls.
Brothers Make has partnered with sustainable sports start-up CRACK’D to recycle cracked and damaged pickleballs that would otherwise end up in landfill.
(L-R Matt and Jonny Browning)
The initiative was launched by CRACK’D founder Millie Smythe, a former competitive tennis player and sustainable design graduate, after she became increasingly aware of the number of plastic balls being discarded as the sport expanded.
Collected from clubs and players across the UK, the damaged balls are sent to Brothers Make, where they are shredded, melted down and transformed into new products including keyrings, coasters, carabiner clips and tournament trophies.
Since the scheme began, more than 100kg of pickleball plastic has already been diverted from the waste stream. Matt Browning, co-founder of Brothers Make, said the project demonstrated how products could be designed with their full lifecycle in mind. “Pickleballs are made from a durable plastic that’s designed to withstand repeated impacts, so it makes sense to keep that material in use for as long as possible,” he said.
brothersmake.com
