Tennis balls would be ‘thrown’ to landfills and would take over 400 years until they decompose. Mathilde Wittock, a Belgian ecodesigner, reuses them to make art and thus contributes to a circular economy.
Belgian artist Mathilde Wittock uses ‘end of life’ tennis balls to create her works. The main bets are loungers, chairs and sustainable seats.
The tennis balls would be intended for landfills and It would take over 400 years until they decompose. Mathilde Wittock, a Belgian ecodesigner, reutillizes them to make art. The idea contributes to a circular economy: In addition to taking the landfill balls, it also asks for sports associations and clubs.
A Production is manual and meticulous. Ecodesigner, which is ‘in love’ to play tennis, uses the soundbouncea surface material made from balls used in this sport.
“They are made of a very durable material. This is interesting. They are very sensory because they are very tactile. They are made of fabric and rubber, they have in the inside. When I looked at the material, I found it interesting perhaps by acoustic because it can have amazing acoustic properties for some reflection and also spaces,” says designer Mathilde Wittock.
The technique reuse 282 balls per square meter. For each one is removed about 8.5 pounds of coa from the air.
Mathilde Wittock’s main works are Sustainable sun loungers and banks. Each object can take up to three weeks to be manufactured.
The Belgian designer presented a chair with hundreds of tennis balls at the London Design Fair, where artists from around the world presented their creations.
Every year, about 300 million tennis balls are produced and used to practice tennis. 4 million is estimated to be discarded.
