Environment
Seven Sharp

Police turning old jerseys into blankets – still to be used in the force

March 8, 2021

Kiwis cops have taken on a new baddie – environmental waste.

Our nation's police force is known for many things - running the gamut from taking down top level crime bosses, down to saving members of the public from thermonuclear pies.

But now they've taken on a new baddie - the crime that is environmental waste.

Police are recycling their old jerseys and turning them into new blankets - and that’s not the only thing they are recycling.

In a heavily guarded, top-secret location somewhere in the greater Wellington region, old police gear piles up, traditionally pipped for the tip.

“We get so much returned uniform and we thought well, is there a better solution for everything coming back? Why don't we try targeting the jerseys first,” New Zealand Procurement Manager, Samantha Townshend says.

Jerseys are not sold because they have "got police branding on it and we don't want it falling into the wrong hands and [people] impersonating a cop", she says.

Townshend says the blankets will be used for police business.

“So potentially yes, on Lady Liz, maritime accidents, road accidents, family harm incidents.”


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