Community Corner Colts Neck Teen Starts Tennis Ball Recycling Program Since starting Tennis Balls Round Two, Richard Ecklord said the program has recycled 2,000 used tennis balls.
Richard Ecklord with tennis ball recycling boxes. (Kristen Ecklord)
COLTS NECK, NJ — When Colts Neck resident Richard Ecklord started playing tennis in the summer of 2022, he fell in love with the sport immediately.
Ecklord, 16, has been playing tennis for two years. In the summer of 2023, he started a new role as a tennis coach and has since found his way around local tennis courts in Monmouth County. When Ecklord and his brother were playing a game of tennis in September, however, Ecklord said he noticed something unusual. Sitting on the grass just outside the courts lay 20-30 tennis balls, none of which had been picked up throughout the day.
It was the site of those tennis balls, Ecklord said, that really got him thinking about recycling. “It was a shame to see how people were disregarding the environment like that,” Ecklord said. “And I started to think, ‘It could be cool to start a recycling project for this purpose.’”
From there, Tennis Balls Round Two was born. Founded in October 2024, Round Two aims to reduce the number of tennis balls that end up in landfills year-round, Ecklord said.
By partnering with local tennis courts, the organization works to find homes for abandoned and used tennis balls in recycling drop-off centers throughout Monmouth County. “Our primary objective is to recycle as many balls as possible,” Ecklord said. “For recreational players, they can drop off their balls at our main centers or some outside locations as well.”
Currently, Round Two has drop-off locations at Park Avenue Tennis Center in Oakhurst, New Shrewsbury Racquet Club in Tinton Falls and the Laird Road Tennis Courts in Colts Neck. When local courts partner with Round Two, they’re provided with a recycling box to collect used tennis balls, Ecklord said. Once the unit is full, Round Two ships the box to Recycle Balls, which uses the donations to create new tennis courts, equestrian turf, playground mulch and more. For Ecklord, starting Round Two has been a lesson in both leadership and time management. As a high school junior, it isn’t easy to balance school work with running an organization. Despite these challenges, Ecklord said he’s found a way to bring Round Two’s work and his school together.
“Around mid-October, I started visiting a bunch of clubs after school to teach them about the program and our goal to recycle as many tennis balls as possible,” Ecklord said. “I think the best part has really just been seeing how people react to the program.” “Obviously, not everyone’s going to be very receptive,” Ecklord continued. “But whenever we ask people [about recycling their tennis balls] they seem thrilled.” Since starting Round Two, Ecklord said the program has recycled 2,000 used tennis balls. According to the Round Two website, one tennis ball alone takes 400 years to decompose, and 125 million tennis balls end up in landfills each year. As Ecklord continues to expand Round Two, he said avoiding rubber waste and prioritizing environmental cleanup remain the priority. “There’s no point in not recycling,” Ecklord said. “You’re only hurting the environment if you’re not helping.”