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H E A LT H Y L I V I N G By Morgan Domaracki | Village Health Clubs & Spas

The Village Health Clubs & Spas are partnering

with RecycleBalls, a nonprofit that works with tennis clubs and fitness centers, to recycle used tennis balls instead of disposing of them in the trash. According to RecycleBalls, it takes tennis balls 400 years to decompose. Approximately 125 million used tennis balls end up in America’s landfills every year, which equates to 20,000 metric tons of methane-producing, near non-decomposable rubber waste. The Village realized the importance of doing their part to save the planet and is taking action. The idea was first presented to Carol Nalevanko, President of the Village Health Clubs and Spas, by Irene Loeb and her nephew, Ryan Zerbib—long time Camelback Village members. Irene and Ryan wanted to partner with the Village clubs to provide a much “greener” solution for their used tennis balls while bringing together the Village tennis community to support the common goal of helping improve the environment.

DC Ranch Village is going green

Simple steps, such as placing bins courtside that make it easy for players to dispose of used tennis balls and prepaid shipping labels for those bins to be returned to the RecycleBalls facility in Vermont, have allowed this group to grow their base to over 4,000 partners across the country. And with the program’s lead sponsor being Wilson Sporting Goods, one of the largest manufacturers of tennis equipment, tennis players are realizing the importance of becoming part of the solution as well. Once the used tennis balls are returned to the facility, some are ground

up and the felt is separated from the rubber. The rubber crumb that is then created is called Green Gold, which is used in the construction of tennis courts and horse footing, with the goal of ultimately creating a variety of green products. Other balls are sold and reused as dog balls. The Village now offers courtside bins that will then be sent to RecycleBalls. The DC Ranch Village offers lessons and clinics to improve tennis skills and leagues for players to challenge their game. Private lessons with their professional tennis pros allow members to get specialized training and keeps them motivated. For more information visit villageclubs.com or call 480.502.8844.

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Ranch News | Januar y 2023