{"id":2308,"date":"2025-11-19T10:17:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T09:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/economia-circular-per-a-pilotes-de-tennis-descartades-afegir-les-al-compost-redueix-les-emissions-i-accelera-la-descomposicio-dels-residus\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T12:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T11:38:34","slug":"circular-economy-for-discarded-tennis-balls-adding-them-to-compost-reduces-emissions-and-accelerates-the-decomposition-of-organic-waste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrotecnio.org\/en\/circular-economy-for-discarded-tennis-balls-adding-them-to-compost-reduces-emissions-and-accelerates-the-decomposition-of-organic-waste\/","title":{"rendered":"Circular economy for discarded tennis balls: adding them to compost reduces emissions and accelerates the decomposition of organic waste"},"content":{"rendered":"\nA study by Agrotecnio, FACSA, and the CIAGRO Centre at the Miguel Hern\u00e1ndez University of Elche shows that reusing discarded tennis balls improves compost aeration and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\nResearchers from the Agrotecnio centre, the Sociedad de Fomento Agr\u00edcola Castellonense (FACSA),<\/a> and the Centre for Agro-Food and Environmental Research and Innovation (CIAGRO)<\/a> at the Miguel Hern\u00e1ndez University of Elche (Alicante) have discovered an innovative way to make industrial composting of organic waste more sustainable: reusing discarded tennis balls.\n\nThe study, published in the Journal of Environmental Management<\/a>, demonstrates that adding 50% of used tennis balls to compost piles significantly improves air circulation and provides several other important benefits.\n\nThe researchers conducted four experiments combining compost aeration with the inclusion of the old balls in the mixture. They analysed two types of compost: one made from pig slurry and urban pruning waste, and another that also included olive oil by-products.\u00a0\n\nThe results indicate that the tennis balls increased oxygen concentrations inside the compost by between 35% and 50%, depending on the mixture. They also reduced emissions of ammonia, carbon monoxide, and methane by up to ninefold, and lowered the energy consumption required for forced aeration by between 160 and 546 kWh, avoiding the emission of 31 to 135 kg of CO\u2082 equivalent.\u00a0\u00a0\n\nCompost aerated with this method also showed higher quality: it had a more balanced pH, lower electrical conductivity, reduced polyphenolic compounds, and higher germination indices.\u00a0\n\n\u201cTennis balls create small air channels that help keep the compost oxygenated without the need for additional energy,\u201d explains Evan Marks, researcher at Agrotecnio. \u201cIt is a very simple yet effective example of circular economy: we give a second life to a difficult-to-recycle waste while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.\u201d\u00a0\n\nDespite the positive results, Marks notes that \u201cit is still necessary to optimise the amount of tennis balls used according to specific mixtures, materials and seasonal conditions, and to foster synergies with organisations and companies that manage discarded balls.\u201d\u00a0\n\n <\/span>J.Avi\u00f1\u00f3 Calero<\/span>\n\nMore information:<\/b>\u00a0\u00a0\n