Teens Collect 15,000 Sports Balls to Set World Record

A teen-led environmental group is about to make sports history by turning a massive waste problem into a world record attempt.

Another Bounce, a youth initiative under the nonprofit Habits of Waste, will host a free community event Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at Reed Park in Santa Monica. A live Guinness World Record adjudicator will verify their collection as they try to claim the record for most sports balls recycled in a single day.

The effort started with a simple frustration. Milan Ramesh, a junior board member, watched his friend throw away dozens of tennis and pickleballs after lessons each week. The teens came together in February and created Another Bounce as a school project on social entrepreneurship.

Since then, they've placed collection boxes at tennis courts across Los Angeles and expanded to accept all types of used sports balls. The response has been overwhelming, with over 15,000 balls collected so far.

"We noticed that people were relieved to find a solution for this huge waste problem," Ramesh said. The balls will be recycled into new balls, sports court surfaces, and other materials instead of sitting in landfills for 400 years.

The teenagers didn't stop at collection boxes. They took their cause directly to city council meetings, pressing officials for stronger recycling policies. On August 24, Malibu Mayor Silverstein invited the group to draft actual legislation for the city.

Ramesh described the first council appearance as intimidating, but his passion carried him through. "At the end of the first meeting I became comfortable with speaking about the policies, because I am so passionate about it and I had my peers around me," he said.

The Ripple Effect

The environmental impact goes far beyond one community event. Hundreds of millions of sports balls are discarded worldwide each year, and their rubber, synthetic, and felt materials don't biodegrade. As sports participation grows, so does the waste stream.

Habits of Waste previously led California's campaign to limit single-use plastic utensils. CEO Sheila Morovati said working with passionate teens shows them they have real power to create change. The organization aims to shift wasteful habits on a larger scale, one ball at a time.

Saturday's event offers free ice cream to anyone bringing a grocery bag full of used balls. Guests can enjoy pickleball matches, games, arts and crafts, and music while supporting a cause that matters. Partner company Selkirk will give away free pickleballs to attendees.

These teenagers proved that frustration can fuel innovation, and youth voices can shape policy when they refuse to stay silent about the planet's future.