A Christmas Island company is turning the tables on marine debris by turning marine debris into tables.

Christmas Island National Park, through Parks Australia, has purchased the first picnic table made entirely of marine debris produced by Eco Crab Industries.

The stunning table is made from the equivalent of 95,000 plastic bottle lids with most of the table made from plastic rubbish picked up off some of Christmas Island’s more exposed beaches.

Specific types of plastic were carefully selected for the build with only UV and weather resistant plastics used so that the table is durable and lasting.

Christmas Island National Park manager Dr Kerrie Bennison said the way Eco Crab Industries was tackling this global marine debris problem was inspiring.

“We’re proud to support a local business that’s using innovative solutions to help fight a global environmental problem which impacts islands around the world from Hawaii to Bali,” Dr Bennison said.

“As well as purchasing the table Christmas Island National Park staff are regularly involved in beach clean-ups with the community. The marine plastics collected from those clean-ups will go to Eco Crab Industries so they can transform plastic trash into treasure.”

Eco Crab Industries began in 2019 to start the process of recycling and repurposing the plastic waste that washed up on Christmas Island beaches. They describe themselves as a ‘customisable company’ that designs and builds just about anything.

Eco Crab Industries Founder Tanya Cross said they were addressing a gap in waste management on the island and had received in-kind support from the Shire of Christmas Island.

“The table we built for Christmas Island National Park is a mix of plastic lids, bottles, tubs and fragments,” she said. “We basically used 150 kilograms of plastic that would have otherwise threatened wildlife such as our beautiful turtles and seabirds.”

The table is in an area of Christmas Island National Park where endangered Abbott’s booby birds can be heard while you picnic.