Although the stunning putting greens and lush fairways that blanket golf courses require quite a bit more input than one could call "sustainable," there is good news on the equipment front thanks to some innovative UMainers: A biodegradable ball made from underutilized byproducts of the lobster industry!
The ball was created in a joint project between the Lobster Institute and a Biological and Chemical Engineering Research Group at the University of Maine. Co-creators, Professor David Neivandt and undergraduate student Alex Caddell intend it for use on cruise ships, since an international treaty banned any plastic-dumping (including golf balls) at sea in the eighties. However, with a production cost as low as 19 cents, while other biodegradables retail around one dollar, maybe we'll see the lobster ball on continental shelves too?
Read the UMaine Press Release here and a great Boston Globe article about the balls here.
1 comment:
Had no idea such a golf ball existed. Very interesting. LM
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