2nd Serve is a student-led recycling initiative founded by Lucas Mo to keep used tennis balls
out of landfills. With official approval from the City of Burlingame, we collect discarded balls
from local courts and ship them to RecycleBalls.org
to be reborn as court cushions, mulch, and playground surfaces.
♻️ 1 ball = 1.2 lb of CO₂ avoided·🎾 125M tennis balls go to U.S. landfills every year·🌱 A tennis ball takes 400 years to break down·🏟️ Recycled into court cushions & playground surfaces·♻️ 1 ball = 1.2 lb of CO₂ avoided·🎾 125M tennis balls go to U.S. landfills every year·🌱 A tennis ball takes 400 years to break down·🏟️ Recycled into court cushions & playground surfaces·
The Story
From a wire trash bin to a citywide initiative.
One Saturday in September, after a long match at a Burlingame tennis court,
Lucas looked into the wire trash bin near the net. It wasn't full of candy wrappers —
it was full of bright yellow fuzz. The balls he'd just played with were headed to a
landfill where they'd sit for 400 years.
That didn't feel right. So Lucas built a prototype recycling box from cardboard,
iterated until it was wind-proof and water-proof, painted it tennis-green, and pitched
the city. On January 15, 2026, the Burlingame Parks & Recreation
Commission voted unanimously to approve the program and certify
2nd Serve as a citywide initiative.
Sep 2025
Idea sparked at a Burlingame court.
Oct – Nov 2025
Prototype recycling bin designed, tested & iterated.
Dec 2025
Project report submitted; outreach to city & schools.
Jan 15, 2026
Unanimous approval from Burlingame Parks & Rec.
Feb 2026 →
First bin live at Washington Park; recycling begins.
The hand-built bin, painted tennis-green and weather-proofed.
