At the risk of sharing what I think to be common knowledge, it's Reduce, Reuse and then Recycle. The order matters and reflects decreasing impact on the overall problem. Recycle is supposed to be the last option. Unfortunately the Reduce and Reuse get little to no emphasis within a capitalist consumption driven society.
Is there an obvious way to reduce bowling balls?
Of course. Don’t buy one if you aren’t going to use it.
Do you have examples of people buying bowling balls and not using them to an extent that their behavior raises environmental concerns?
You are arguing against no one. The person you initially replied to explaining RRR obviously isn't talking about RRRing bowling balls specifically. They are explaining the significance of and how to interpret the common way it's taught to reduce unnecessary production and consumption.