Page 102 - Shaping A Sustainable Future

We identified equipment that can be refurbished, thus reducing the need to discard and purchase new replacements.
Some equipment, e.g. climbing frames, has to be purchased as a set, thus increasing the cost of replacement. From
June to October 2020, GymKidz has refurbished this equipment (see Table 1):

No Description Qty Unit Cost ($) Set Cost ($) Weight (kg)

1 Climbing Frames 2 700 1,400 15x2
(Tall frames to develop climbing skills, used for older age
groups)
2 Foam Wedge Medium 1 250 250 13
(middle-sized to help children with their forward, backward
and sausage rolls)
3 Bird Beam 1 120 120 3.5
(narrowest, flat board that can be used to enhance balancing
skills)
4 Ladder (Medium) 1 180 180 5
5 Accessories Boxes 2 100 200 3x2
(colourful boxes used to hold small balls, bean bags, Lummi
sticks and can be used for infants to recognize shapes and to
sharpen their perception skills)
Total 2,150 57.5
Refurbishment Costs 350
Potential Savings 1,800 57.5
Table 1: Savings from refurbishment.

We assisted GymKidz in refurbishing some of its
equipment, such as hinges for the ladders (see Figure 4) Through this exercise, we have discovered that we
and replacing the sticker coating of wooden balancing often do not always need to buy new. We should reuse,
beams. recreate or refurbish items whenever possible, as this
will save costs while saving environmental resources.
In summary, we achieved the desired outcome by:

• Extending the lifespan of the equipment;
• Reducing waste;
• Reducing carbon emissions caused by the burning of
waste;
• Reducing the use of landfills;
Figure 4: Hands-on refurbishment by students • Saving the cost of purchasing new equipment.
and staff of ITE.

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