They're not exactly the environmental scourge of our time, but tens of thousands of golf balls made from the petrochemicals Surlyn or urethane end up in rivers, forests, lakes and oceans every year, and there they will stay for hundreds of years.

University of Maine

A University of Maine professor and student teamed up to make eco-friendly golf balls, like this one, from lobster shells.

A professor-student team has tackled the problem of eco-unfriendly golf balls by making them out of lobster shells.

University of Maine professor David Neivandt and golfer and undergrad Alex Caddell have created a ball made from the byproduct of the lobster-canning industry, TV station WMTW reported.

The lobster golf balls solve two environmental problems, actually. "We're using a byproduct of the lobster-canning industry, which is currently miserably underutilized -- it ends up in a landfill," Neivandt said.

Neivandt and Caddell see the golf balls as particularly useful on cruise ships. They can be used with both drivers and irons, Caddell told WMTW.

Biodegradable golf balls currently on the market sell for about $1 a ball retail; the raw materials for the lobster shell balls cost as little as 19 cents.

The University of Maine has filed a provisional patent for the lobster shell recipe, which can also be used to make things such as planters and surveying stakes that decompose.

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