BEDFORD – The Bedford Parks and Recreation Department has purchased two bins for recycling tennis balls.

Did you know:

• 125 million tennis balls are sold in the U.S. annually.

• There are 250,000 tennis courts in the U.S.

• 200 tennis balls are discarded monthly per park.

• 3 new tennis balls are used for most matches played.

• 100 million tennis balls are discarded into U.S. land fills annually.

• The French Tennis Federation collects 1.5 million tennis balls annually.

• It will take more than 100 years for a tennis

ball to break down in a landfill.

Recycled tennis balls are ground up to use for equestrian flooring mulch and as additives to tennis courts subsurfaces.

As with all recycled matter, industries will find new creative ways to use the material.

For more information, contact Bob Brooks at rhbrooks7717@gmail.com or 1-617-835-6430.

– Submitted by Bob Brooks