Ri Cruden is a mechanical, electrical and renewable energy company based in Inverness.
The company started out in 2005, mainly providing heating engineering services. But since a new director joined in 2012, they have accelerated the renewables side of their business.
Three years ago, the firm moved into a new building in the Longman industrial estate, dubbed the ‘Renewable Innovation Centre’ thanks to the rooftop solar array and air-source heat pump that provide it with electricity and heat, respectively.
In an encouraging sign that more Scots are choosing to generate their own clean energy, Ri Cruden's team has been busy with lots of new solar installations recently, including some replacements. However, this presented a new challenge: what to do with a sudden influx of old solar panels at the end of their life?
We asked Rachel Johnstone, the firm’s business and marketing coordinator, who attended Climate Springboard’s net zero training for Highlands and Islands Enterprise in March 2026.
“Obviously to put them to landfill would be easy,” she says, “but to try and get them recycled or disposed of sustainably, which was really important to us, was going to be expensive.”
Giving solar panels a new start
“I racked my brain,” she recalls, and eventually took inspiration from a table sitting in the Ri Cruden reception made by her engineer colleagues from an old solar panel. It had been occasionally used in staff ping pong tournaments.
She ran with the idea and decided to partner with New Start Highland, a local charity that tackles homelessness, poverty and unemployment in the region. As well as providing furniture to people who need it, the charity upcycles, repairs and sells donated furniture at a shop in Inverness, using proceeds to fund their services.
Ri Cruden staff would make ping pong tables out of the old panels by fixing four legs to the bottom and an adjustable net on top, then donate them.
“We decided to initially run it with 10,” Rachel recounts. “We got the materials and our apprentices spent the day in the workshop doing it.”
“It was really not that difficult,” says Rachel. “It’s inventive, but it’s not a genius move. All we had to do was screw four legs onto a solar panel. It’s so weird, but the table tennis net seemed to fit perfectly.”
Simple savings
In total, Ri-Cruden only paid for a few materials needed to attach the four table legs (and less than one day of apprentice time in total).
“That was significantly cheaper than us trying to dispose of it,” notes Rachel, which she estimated at around £750 to arrange for collection, plus £14 per panel to recycle.
This goes to show that prioritising the earlier steps in the waste hierarchy – reuse and repurpose – can be better for the bank than sending things straight to a recycling plant, though it sometimes takes a little thought and creativity.
Rachel says: “It's been a success and we've had quite a few requests for more,” including customers at the New Start Highland warehouse wanting to use them as outdoor dining tables.
“Solar panels are completely waterproof, so quite versatile.”