With a little research, you can make a difference and recycle proactively. Photo / Getty Images
It’s brilliant that you know not to put these into your kerbside recycling. No one likes a “wish-cycler” (someone who puts things into the recycling in the hopes they will be recycled when really they will end up in landfill and jeopardise the chances of the other recyclable items in that bin being recycled).
Old child car seats can be sent to Seat Smart, which has more than 40 collection sites around Aotearoa New Zealand. The seats are dismantled and up to 75 per cent of the seat can be recycled or repurposed. For example, the straps are used to make bags by The Green Collective in Nelson. More than 100,000 car seats end up in landfill each year so even though the entire seat cannot be recycled or repurposed, using this service (there is a fee per seat, around $25) is a great way to reduce that statistic.
Helmets are similar to car seats; it’s unsafe to adopt a second-hand helmet as you don’t know its safety rating and structural stability. Please do not donate helmets to second-hand stores; they cannot sell them for safety reasons. If you have a brand-new helmet that hasn’t been through any crashes (even small crashes compress the helmet and dramatically reduce its capacity to protect you in another fall), it’s best to personally seek a new home for it and pass on its history. If the helmet is not usable anymore, unfortunately, there is no current helmet recycling solution in Auckland. Aside from throwing it into your kerbside rubbish bin, you can try your hand at upcycling it into a stylish hanging basket or a storage bowl.
When it comes to unique items that you would like to recycle, always search on your local community page (often on Facebook) for recycling services and do a quick Google search to find solutions. Only donate items to charity shops that can safely be reused and, above all, focus on looking after items responsibly so they last as long as possible.