Sporting Goods

Sporting goods and equipment can be donated to a community service organization that will use them to support their work, distribute them to people in need, or resell them to raise funds. For donation opportunities, see the list below. 

If the items are in excellent shape, you can try selling them to a consignment shop for reuse. 

Broken or unusable sporting goods and equipment should be placed in the trash. Do not place items in your curbside recycling.

Golf Balls

Do not place golf balls in curbside recycling. Some options exist for golf balls including resale and donating for reuse. Check out these suggestions from WikiHowand RecycleNation.

Pickleball

Do not place old or damaged pickleballs in curbside recycling. P3 Pickleball has introduced collection boxes for use at local courts and, when full, the boxes are shipped back to the company for recycling. Other upcoming programs in development include Service Pickleball and the RePickle Project.

Skis, Snowboards, Paddleboards and Kayaks

Disposal options for bulky outdoor gear are available through Load Up , REI's Member Trade-In, or other organizations.

Tennis Balls

Got tennis balls? Recycle them through Wilson's RecycleBalls program. Individuals can ship tennis balls for recycling to reBounce's mail-back program.  Organizations can request boxes and bins for the collection of larger amounts. 

Tennis ball cans are not recyclable in a curbside program, and we’re not aware of anywhere they can be dropped off for recycling. Consider a reuse project or place them in the trash for disposal.

Tennis Shoes

Nike offers the Reuse-A-Shoe program. The company collects old, worn-out athletic shoes for recycling and transforms them into Nike Grind, a material used in creating athletic and playground surfaces as well as select Nike products. See a list of drop-off locations.

Trophies

Do not place trophies, medals, or awards in curbside recycling. Sports Medal Recycling accepts and recycles extra, unused, or unwanted medals from road races, endurance events, sports, and academia through a mail-back program. Total Awards & Promotions in Wisconsin accepts trophies, plaques, and awards through a mail-back program. Otherwise, unwanted trophies, medals, and ribbons should be reused or placed in the regular trash.

Earth911 offers tips for dismantling and recycling acrylic plaques and awards.

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Looking to recycle, donate, or dispose of other items? Use the dark blue 'What Do I Do With?' search bar at the top of every page of this website. Allow location services or use the city drop-down to find opportunities in your local area.