Council’s Forest Rd tip is now becoming a drop-off point for disused children’s car seats.

The trial, which is being run with program partner Equilibrium until the end of August, provides a free responsible way to dispose of unwanted child car restraints which may be broken, damaged or no longer meet the Australian Standard.

Tamworth Regional Council manager of waste and water operations, Dan Coe, said the program aims to divert in excess of 900 tonnes of waste away from landfills across Australia and back into the recycling system.

“It is estimated that more than 200,000 child car seats are being disposed of by families every year, with the majority being sent to landfill,” Mr Coe said.

“This is despite about 90 per cent of a car safety seat being made of materials that are recyclable.

“A product with such a significant percentage of recyclable material is a valuable resource that is wasted when sent to landfill so it’s great news we now have a collection site in Tamworth.”

Mr Coe said under the trial, child car restraints taken to the Small Vehicle Transfer Station at  Forest Road Waste Management Centre and these will be collected and taken to a site where they will be disassembled and the various components recycled.

“It’s a great initiative and we hope the local community will make the most of the trial until the end of August,” Mr Coe said.