Omega Rental Cars, the alpha in child car seat recycling

Omega Rental Cars, the alpha in child car seat recycling

A nationwide car rental company has become the first to commit to recycling their child car seats through the SeatSmart programme.

Omega Rental Cars approached SeatSmart, which is run by resource recovery specialists 3R Group, in late February to find a better solution for their unwanted and expired seats. As a result, all the seats will be recycled, rather than go to landfill.

“We would love to see all car seats properly recycled and encourage others to follow suit,” Omega Rental Cars Chief Executive Simon Sceats says. The company provides free child car seats and booster seats for their customers, a service which is well used, Mr Sceats says.

Omega replace around 50-100 seats each year, either due to their condition or because they have reached their expiry date. “Obviously, that’s a lot of unnecessary waste if they simply end up in the landfill,” he says.

“We believe the seat recycling scheme is an excellent idea and have committed to this process nationwide. We would love to see all car seats properly recycled and encourage others to follow suit.”

SeatSmart programme manager Toni Bye says it is great to have Omega take the lead. “Child car seats are made up of highly recyclable materials and Omega is showing real leadership in terms of sustainability by preventing these materials from going to landfill,” she says.

SeatSmart was launched nationally in April 2016 and overall has collected nearly 7,500 seats, which equates to approximately 29,000kg of recyclable materials. SeatSmart also encourages parents and caregivers to check the expiry dates of their children’s seats.

At least 40,000 child car seats reach their end-of-life each year in New Zealand. Most end up in a landfill, despite around 90 per cent of a typical seat being recyclable.

The programme has collection sites at 32 locations in eight regions around the country, with a $10 fee (RRP) to cover recycling costs. Some regions have reduced costs thanks to council subsidies. For more on the programme visit www.seatsmart.co.nz.

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