How can I reuse or recycle a broken basketball?
We’ve had an email from Ewan, asking:
hello, any ideas on what i could make with a broken basketball?
it looks exactly like this (–>)
and is completely intact apart from the bit where the pump goes in..
We had an old deflated football in our garden for a while (no idea where it came from) and one of the cats, Carbon, decided it was his own private rainwater collector/bowl — but that was an unintended, temporarily reuse.
So has anyone got any better ideas for Ewan?
(Photo by lusi)
Could it be cut in half so you have 2 bowl shapes…stab a few holes, attach some chain and you’d have 2 x hanging baskets!
To a dog, this isn’t even broken!
Deflated ones are much easier to get your teeth into…
Cut it in half and then you have two stylish basketball hats.
Cut it into pieces and make some sweet bracelets!
Is his name Ewan or Evan? You wrote both.
Ewan, sorry, my bad :)
When I was growing up, we had half a basketball nailed to a protruding overhead corner beam in a basement storage room to protect our heads from bumps.
Ditto on Alice’s comment. My late German Shepherd would go nuts for a broken basketball (or a soccerball)! I would take it to a dog shelter if you don’t own a dog.
if youre crafty you can turn it into texure for a collage or an idea for a scrpbook page.
Cut it up and use as coasters.
Would make a cool bowl for fruit or snacks “as is”, just squash it double and clean it thoroughly and hey presto :)
You can use it as a basket to collect fruits from trees or as a real bag for the shopping or to carry things here and there in a sporty way: just cut an opening not too big where the hole is now. Better if you can make it with a simmetry. The make one or two couple of holes for one or two handles.
Doesn’t look cool?
My first and only idea was to fold it into itself and make a dish planter out of it.’They’ say you you need drainage holds but my happy collection of succulents will say otherwise.plant basil or something in it.the ball may fall apart after a few years,but isn’t that the point?to use something as long as it is useful? =)
You can make it a mold to make half-bowls of paper mache. When the paper is fully dry, you can remove the ball towards the center. It can be done using a balloon and you’d pop the balloon when it’s done. With the ball, you can use it over and over and have just the same size for each bowl.
This re-use is great, but I have too many popped balls. Is there anything to fill them with to plug the holes so they will still bounce? Or someplace that can actually recycle the materials?
good idea angela, will any place recycle these materials?
I have been making jewellery from dead basketballs. It’s a fantastic material to use. If you happen to be in Hobart on November 20 you can see it at the Fringe Festival Fashion Show. Also I will happily take old basketballs off people’s hands if they’re not too far away to pick up.
knightsriding@dodo.com.au
yeah these are all great ideas, but none compare to mine, what you need to do is to make the old basketball into two halfs, one half for a gold fish bowl, and the other as a chip dip bowl for the big games. of course you will have to wash it out, but when it’s clean there is no other bowl that is better for the game, and it is a quick and easy clean up!
Good ideas people, good for the earth.
They can be cleaned and cut, and painted for use in costumes for Halloween and other purposes. The idea I first saw was for fly’s eyes, but it would be effective as an alien’s head, too. Imagination!
Great idea Melinda, a couple bolts washers and nuts with the top cut off and a small rope. Great for tricker treaters, you could even put reflective tape on it for reflective visibility at night.
Fill it up with sand, tape it shut and and make a medicine ball out of it instead! :-)
No one should get rid of basketballs.