Several times a week, I get people emailing me to buy their golf balls, all from a reuse and recycle golf ball post I did several years ago. For some reason I also did a post on Eco Friendly Golf Balls filled with fish food. So on a roll, there is now another Eco Friendly yet biodegradable golf ball in the works which should be less expensive that other Eco Friendly sources. (FYI, I do not buy or sell golf balls)
The balls were created by Chemical Engineering Professor David Neivandt and undergraduate student Alex Caddell, via UMaine’s wonderfully-named The Lobster Institute. They are made from crushed waste lobster shells, combined with a biodegradable binder and coating. A by-product of the lobster canning industry, the shells would reportedly otherwise end up in a landfill.
Not only do the UMaine balls make use of an otherwise unused waste material, but they’re also cost-effective – whereas traditional biodegradable golf balls cost a bit less than one U.S. dollar a piece, raw materials for one of the lobster shell balls adds up to about 19 cents. Source: Gizmag
