Thanks to everyone who has recycled their child car seats through SeatSmart over the last 12 months. End of March 2016 marked the end of our successful trial period, covering April 2015 to March 2016. In this period we have: collected 1,713 car seats that would have otherwise gone to landfill or continued in use despite being expired or damaged; extended collections to 11 sites in 6 cities; sent approximately 6,000kg of plastic, 850kg of metal and 170kg of straps for recycling or repurposing; and provided meaningful work for Department of Corrections work programmes. A review of the programme has set some exciting goals for the next 12 months, including a target of 3,500 seats recycled. We have also amended the ...
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SeatSmart was lucky enough to feature in the July edition of the esteemed Idealog magazine: “Hastings-based ‘product stewardship’ company 3R Group, whose raison d’etre is working out how to make things from waste, and therefore keep it out of landfill. Download the article
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3R’s project manager Michelle Duncan answers a few questions about our latest programme, SeatSmart. How did it all start? The project started when I had an expired car seat and was told the only disposal option was dumping it in landfill. For me, landfill should be the last resort, not the only option. So, I took the issue to my colleagues at 3R and we decided that we could change the outcome. Thanks to the project, the outcome will now be that 92% of the car seat materials brought in can be recycled. When did it launch? The SeatSmart programme launched on 1 April with a pilot in Auckland, Hamilton, Hastings and Nelson. It follows the 18-month initial project which looked ...
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The SeatSmart project featured in the December edition of Revolve, the magazine of WasteMINZ, the largest representative body of the waste and resource recovery sector in New Zealand. Waste is an opportunity Sometimes waste issues seem like the proverbial elephant, too big to eat in one mouthful. So we wait, hoping for legislation, landfill bans or consumer action to force widespread change. In a few isolated cases this might happen; mostly it doesn’t. Alternatively the waste elephant can be viewed as a whole heap of bite-sized pieces, with each waste type representing an opportunity to improve outcomes. This is the approach that 3R took when investigating a product stewardship solution for children’s car seats, now called SeatSmart… Read the article.
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In 2014 an estimated 40,000 child car restraints will expire, with landfill being the main disposal option for owners. An industry-wide project has been set up to look at the problem, with the aim of reducing waste to landfill, and improving road safety for children through proper disposal of expired child restraints. Funding has come from Auckland Council, The Baby Factory, Baby on the Move, The Warehouse, and project leaders 3R Group. Plunket, the NZ Transport Agency, a plastic processor, and other importers are also involved. 3R Group initiated the project as part of their work designing ways for businesses to help their customers responsibly dispose of used products and packaging, a concept known as product stewardship. Industry research conducted ...
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