this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2023
99 points (98.1% liked)

News

23296 readers
3432 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Tennis has a fuzzy yellow problem most players don’t think about when they open can after can of fresh balls, or when umpires at U.S. Open matches make their frequent requests for “new balls please.”

Because tennis balls are extremely hard to recycle and the industry has yet to develop a ball to make that easier, nearly all of the 330 million balls made worldwide each year eventually get chucked in the garbage, with most ending up in landfills, where they can take more than 400 years to decompose. It’s a situation highlighted by Grand Slam events like Flushing Meadows, which will go through nearly 100,000 balls over the course of the tournament.

That harsh reality in an age of heightened environmental awareness has sent ball makers, recyclers and the game’s worldwide governing body scrambling for solutions, and spurred sustainability activists to sound the alarm in online posts that pose the question: Are tennis balls a disaster for the planet?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (3 children)

nearly all of the 330 million balls made worldwide each year eventually get chucked in the garbage

Think of how many dogs those balls could improve the lives of!

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

PSA standard ("real") tennis balls are bad for dogs, especially their teeth.. https://sierraveterinary.com/2022/03/29/the-dangers-of-tennis-balls/

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

Interesting. I didn't know that. Thanks.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I wonder if raquette balls (non-fuzzy ….uhm… blue…. Er… balls…) are bad for the teeth- or for small dogs, squash balls (they’re smaller.) both are just hollow shells of rubber.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There might be a choking hazard depending on how they break up? A vet would be able to tell you more definitely.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Annecdotally, my old dog loved racquet balls, and despite being a prodigious toy destroyer, never managed to destroy one. My current dog has a ball that's similar to a racquet ball in construction and feels like the same kind of rubber, and it's also holding up fine, although it's not exactly her favorite ball.

They are a bit smaller than a tennis ball, so depending on the size of your dog and how they play with them they could be a choking/swallowing hazard in that respect, but thats not something that's ever been a major concern with my dogs.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

They don’t really break up. At least, I’ve not seen a dog do that to them in the same way they destroy the fuzzy ones. Also they keep the bounce longer

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I have a golden doodle and he will destroy almost any toy in a few minutes. The only exception is those solid rubbery dog toys, which take him several hours to start chipping away at.

They're probably fine but if you are really concerned, call a local veterinarian office and ask.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Just like most problems, this can easily be solved with enough golden retrievers

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I bought 400 used tennis balls on eBay a few years ago for about $75. My dogs don't chew on them, just to fetch. And after a couple throws theres not much fluff left. It's slobber and dirt. Vet never complains about the state of their teeth. Great investment vs buying them new.