Trade-in event turns up ‘mountain’ of old lifejackets
A project to trade in old lifejackets, and get discounted new ones in return, has gone down a treat at Nelson Marina this week.
“There was a mountain of derelict lifejackets,” a Coastguard Nelson spokesperson said.
“They recycle a few but they (Coastguard NZ) are careful what they do, and out of the dozens exchanged, they only kept seven for recycling. It was well received with the support of the community.”
The exchange was run as part of Coastguard NZ’s nationwide Old4New Lifejacket Upgrade campaign.
Coastguard NZ senior communications adviser Ben Parsons said it was all about ensuring people’s safety on the water.
“By trading in old, damaged, or ill-fitting lifejackets for newer, discounted Hutchwilco ones, we can help reduce preventable drownings across Aotearoa.
“We’ve had a team of people travelling across the country with two vans for eight weeks, visiting 70 popular boating spots between December and through to Waitangi Weekend, with 28 boating and outdoors stores also involved offering the same discounts.”
Parsons said a range of discounted lifejackets were available at each event for boating, watersports, kayaking and sailing with a range of sizes from infants to adults.
“Over a decade, more than 20,400 Kiwis have taken part in the programme, trading in their worn-out lifejackets for top-notch replacements. There’s a real gap in Kiwis’ understanding of how to maintain the safety of a lifejacket and what constitutes a fit-for-purpose lifejacket.”
He said in each previous year of the Old4 New campaign they had seen lifejackets in varying conditions being traded in, some 40 to 50 years old or even older.
“If one of the old kapok-filled lifejackets gets punctured, it can get waterlogged and become no better than a wet pillow around your neck.”
Coastguard chief executive Callum Gillespie said this summer had brought some “fantastic” boating weather.
“Coastguard volunteers across the country have been kept busy. Over the holiday period, our volunteers responded to 54 urgent, life-threatening, and medical emergencies, in addition to over 300 calls for help for non-urgent assistance with everything from stuck anchors to engine problems.”
However, he said volunteers continued to see people taking risks.
“When something goes wrong out on the water, it happens quickly and when you least expect it. Wearing a lifejacket gives you the gift of time and the best chance of survival for our volunteers to respond when you need us the most.”