South Africa’s padel industry has over 773 courts at 256 venues, and the environmental footprint of discarded padel balls is rapidly increasing.
Image: Supplied
More than 350 million tennis and padel balls are produced annually worldwide, with over 95% of them ending up in landfills or being incinerated.
What many people don’t realise is that these balls take up to 400 years to decompose, creating a long-term environmental burden.
The production of new balls also relies on non-renewable resources, further exacerbating their impact.
Now, a new sustainability-focused non-profit initiative, Amazeballs, is tackling this challenge by upcycling used padel balls into innovative furniture and art pieces, proving that sustainability and design can work together to drive change.
With South Africa’s padel industry growing rapidly, boasting over 773 courts at 256 venues, the environmental footprint of discarded padel balls is rapidly increasing.
Amazeballs aims to repurpose these materials into functional, aesthetically striking pieces, ensuring that the sport is not just trendy but also sustainable.
Amazeballs has partnered with innovative South African designers, including Vusi Ravele of Native Décor and Dean Dicks of Coney Collective.
Vusi Ravele, founder of Native Décor, says, “With this project, we wanted to explore new possibilities, which led to the design of a coffee table, side table, and mirrors crafted from upcycled padel balls. There’s been massive interest in these pieces, and we hope to show consumers that upcycled products can be just as desirable and functional as traditional furniture.”
Dean Dicks, Creative Director of Coney Collective, commented; “For Amazeballs, we developed two key pieces - a stool/chair, which we nicknamed “The Umpire’s Chair”, a nod to tennis and padel and a conceptual mirror piece in the shape of Africa, integrating padel balls to reflect both the continent’s identity and the sustainability mission. We used recycled board with a dark anthracite finish to make the balls ‘pop’, creating a high-impact, conversation-starting design.
An exhibition showcasing sustainable furniture will debut at Cape Town Furniture Week, hosted at Church House, 1 Victoria Street Cape Town from Thursday, 20 February – Saturday, 22 February. Entrance is free of charge.
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