How to extend the life of your classroom tables while doing a lot of good

How to extend the life of your classroom tables while doing a lot of good
Kaitao Intermediate School in Rotorua have joined the movement to retrofit old classroom table frames with new Critical. Cleanstone (Kererū mix) table tops made from 100% post industrial and ocean plastics.

In NZ there are over 160,000 classroom tables using laminate MDF which means at the end of life it all ends up in landfill. If we retrofitted every unit at the end of life with a new Cleanstone top, Aotearoa could close the loop for over 5,600,000kgs of plastic waste. Boom.

And these new table tops would last almost a lifetime. What's more, we will buy it back at the end of life and recycle it over and over and over again.

The best part about this story is that the students themselves installed the new Cleanstone table tops!

We started Critical. back in the day by mentoring a group of teenagers to build a business using design and technology. Seeing our materials today used this way by young people get's me a little emotional.

I'd love to celebrate 2 things from this story:

1. The capabilities and potential of our rangatahi should never be overlooked and always nurtured.

2. Love to celebrate Kaitao Intermediate staff and management team's forward thinking approach in driving both education and sustainable outcomes in their kura.

If your school is looking to renew your classroom tables, why not join the movement retrofit just the table top? If your keen, send us a message or reach out by jumping onto our contacts page:

https://criticaldesign.nz/pages/contact
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