Balls 4 Eyeballs
Saving the Environment while Funding Eye Research
By Ethan Waisberg, Co-Founder
Photo of Dr. Ethan Waisberg (right) standing in front of the illuminated TORONTO sign, lit in tennis-ball yellow in recognition of Tennis Ball Recycling Month.
Every year, over 300 million tennis balls are manufactured worldwide, and the vast majority end up in landfill after only a short period of use. A single tennis ball takes over 300 years to decompose, meaning the waste generated by today’s tennis players will remain for hundreds of years. Balls 4 Eyeballs was created by Ethan and his brother Cooper to address this tennis ball waste problem and to demonstrate that environmental responsibility and community health can be advanced through a single, practical solution: collecting and repurposing used tennis balls, while directing sale proceeds to support eye-health initiatives and research.
The idea began with a simple realization: tennis players discard balls frequently, yet many of these balls are still functional and could be reused for classrooms, physiotherapy, sport training, and other applications. What began as a small effort soon developed into a structured, youth-led program partnering with tennis clubs across Ontario. The initiative grew quickly, supported by strong community interest and increasing awareness of the environmental impact of sports waste.
Support from the Homerton Changemakers program was instrumental in enabling the next stage of development. This support allowed the project to return home to Toronto, where a strong tennis ecosystem and existing community networks created an ideal environment for continued growth. Working with local tennis clubs and schools, Balls 4 Eyeballs expanded its reach and established consistent collection pathways. Students are now involved in school workshops, to help pack balls and build awareness of the importance of reusing and repurposing everyday items.
The Balls 4 Eyeballs mission is clear: prevent millions of tennis balls from entering landfills, while ensuring that funds generated contribute meaningfully to improving vision care and access to eye-health services. The project is continuing to expand across Ontario, using a scalable model that emphasizes community partnerships, measurable environmental outcomes, and youth leadership. Balls 4 Eyeballs was honoured to have the CN tower, Toronto sign and Niagara Falls all lit up in tennis ball colors to promote the cause.
As the program grows, the priority remains education, awareness, and action. Balls 4 Eyeballs encourages communities to view sustainability not as an obligation, but as an opportunity, to reduce non decomposable waste, and support better health outcomes for those living with vision impairment. This work demonstrates that meaningful change does not always require new technology; sometimes, it begins with rethinking an object already in our hands like a tennis ball.
Acknowledgement
My sincere thanks to Rupert Baines and the Homerton Changemakers program for their support. Which helped move Balls 4 Eyeballs to an active and expanding community program.
