Who Dismantles Your Seats
On 1 November 2018 we moved to paid dismantling for the majority of seats. This is due to increasing volumes and the growing complexity of the seats we collect. We will use two services: Social Enterprise a paid service that provides employment for people who have a disability or are disadvantaged or marginalised and Department of Corrections community work programmes a free dismantling service providing useful indoor work for offenders, used for a limited number of seats.
Recycle Old Expired Or Damaged Car Seats To Keep Them Off The Road And Keep Kids Safe
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration , three out of every four car seats are installed incorrectly. Using a car seat correctly is hard enough dont compromise your childs safety even further by using an expired or damaged car seat. Download the carseat checklist.
A modern, intact car seat is a childs best protection in a crash.
Never reuse a car seat involved in a crash.
Car seats weaken over time from exposure to high-altitude sun and temperature extremes throughout the year.
Beware of recalled seats. There are currently more than 50 recalled car seat models listed on the NHTSA website.
Recycle your seat for free at any Car Seats Colorado drop-off location.
Proper Disposal Of A Un
If your seat is expired, has been in a collision, or was made before January 2012 and does not meet the Jan 2012 regulations:
- cut the harness straps and fabric, making it undesirable for someone else to take
- put it in a garbage bag, if possible
- throw it out on garbage day or take it to your local waste facility
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What Should I Do With My Old Car Seat
Whether your growing child is ready to move onto the next size up of car seat, or youve encountered issues with their car seat that means you cant use it, working out what to do with a large piece of complicated moulded plastic can leave many parents scratching their heads.
Read on for our advice on what you can do with old car seats, including making use of your warranty, handling car seats that have been in a vehicle crash, understanding the life span of a car seat, and whether you should chuck or recycle your old seat.
Looking for your next car seat? Read our car seat reviews to help you pick a Best Buy.
Does Your Seat Meet The January 2012 Regulations
On January 1, 2012, Transport Canada changed some of the regulations affecting child car seats. The regulations didnt change the laws, just some of the rules that manufacturers have to follow when designing car seats.
If you have a seat made prior to January 2012, you can keep using it until your child outgrows it. You do not have to go out an replace your seats but that seat cannot change ownership.
You will not be able to sell a used car seat that does not meet the January 2012 regulations.
All seats that are sold, in a store or resale by a car seat owner, must meet these new regulations.
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Car Seat Recycling & Donation In Minnesota
There are a couple of recycling options in Minnesota:
- MVAC Thrift & More can recycle infant car seats through their association with AGAIN Thrift & More in Mankato.
- Lyon County collects car seats or recycling for free as a service to its residents.
- McLeod County will recycle your car seat for $5.
- Stearns County has a Car Seat Recycling Program. They accept car seats from Stearns, Sherburne, Benton, and Mille Lacs counties.
- In the City of WhitePark, you can now drop off car seats you would like to dispose of at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility.
- The compost and recycling facility accept household hazardous waste and recyclable materials from Wright County residents. Appointments are required for all household hazardous waste and recyclables listed.
- Tandem gives a fighting chance to people who have been struck hard by life. They accept gently used clothing, toys, and equipment.
Whats The Best Way To Dispose Of Car Seats
After your precious cargo grows too big for a car seat, should you trash, donate, or recycle it? Check out what the experts have to say.
Dear Recyclebank:How should I dispose of baby or child car seats that I cant use anymore?
Dear Reader: Since car seats are comprised of plastic, metal, and other recyclable materials, it seems a shame to send them to the landfill.
Car seats can be recyclable. But its a labor of love, says Kimberly Christensen, Program Manager with Old Car Seat, New Life. She should know: She estimates she has taken apart nearly 150 car seats to see how possible it is to separate the metal, synthetic fabric, plastic, foam, and other components into recyclable materials.
The difficult part is that theyre being manufactured to not fall apart, since you want the child as safe as possible, she says. Newer car seats often include steel inserts attached to the plastic via hard-to-remove rivets that make the seats safer and extend their usable lifespan,.
Clark cautions that if you are dropping off the whole car seat on your curb for recycling, consumers must cut off the webbing, cut the cover, obliterate the serial number and manufacture date, and write Trash, do not use on the car seat shell to ensure others dont scoop up and use an unsafe seat.
- The expiration date, date of manufacture, and model number
- Whether the car seat has been involved in a crash
- If the seat has all of the original parts
- If any parts are cracked or damaged
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Drop Them Off At Your Retailers
Some retail stores accept old car seats, providing opportunities for folks to drop off their unwanted car seats this is one effective way to dispose of car seats in California and other parts of the United States.
The good news is that you can receive some rewards as cash or gift cards from the store by doing so. A popular option is the yearly Walmart and Target car seat recycling program.
Thus, you shoppers can engage in the Target car seat recycle for 2021 or Walmarts program and get their car seats off in the trade-in event.
Recycling Programs In The United States
As of now in the US, the following 13 states have recycling options for car seats: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, and Washington. You can check out the updated list of states, along with contact details of various programs HERE.
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Target Car Seat Recycling
Another great program is the Target trade-in event. Target has been accepting car seats for recycling since 2016, and to date have recycled half a million car seats! Through its trade-in recycling programs, Target has recycled over 11.9 million pounds of plastic. Their program usually runs during Baby Safety Awareness Month as well, which is September, but they also ran the event in the Spring of this year as well. You can bring your old car seat into Target customer service and receive a 20% off coupon to be used on any new car seat, baby travel system, or other select baby gear. Be aware that the coupon must be used right away. Based on past events, the coupon will expire a day after the end of the trade-in period.
Target will accept any car seat in any condition, including booster seats. This is a great option if you have your eye on another baby item you need. It can add up to some great savings for youplus you get to do your part in helping the environment, and that feels good.
Commonly Recycled Items
Can I Repair My Child’s Car Seat
If you encounter an issue with your car seat, you may be able to get it repaired, but this will depend on a range of factors including whether its still in warranty and if you still have proof of purchase.
Because of the nature of car seats, and their importance in keeping your baby or child safe, we dont recommend you attempt to fix it yourself. If the car seat is faulty and its out of warranty, wed always recommend you replace it.
Read on to find out what some of the key car seat manufacturers state about getting your car seat repaired.
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What Are Manufacturers And Retailers Doing
The BBC contacted major manufacturers and retailers to ask what they were doing. Most did not provide comments for publication.
BeSafe, a Norwegian child car seat designer, said it recently removed all Expanded Polystyrene from its packaging and had begun to phase it out from its car seats.
EPS is used in car seats for shock absorption, and according to the British Plastics Federation, “can be successfully recycled where facilities exist”, but is “not currently recycled on a worldwide scale”.
Be Safe has been exchanging EPS for Polypropylene cells, which it said were “fully recyclable” and “more durable”.
John Lewis & Partners, meanwhile, says it aims to “reduce and reuse where possible” but added it was “not aware of any recycling facilities in the UK that accept car seats”.
And Peter Andrews, head of sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Consumers want to do the right thing, and it is up to government to ensure the infrastructure keeps pace with this.”
Option # : Watch Out For Trade
These trade-in programs help bring a non-functional car seat in return for a coupon.
When you trade-in with these baby-related electronics, various popular Homestore companies may offer you a certain percentage discount offer on a new one.
Trade-in events are unquestionably the most convenient alternative, and we strongly suggest them.
Not only do you dispose of your old car seat, but you also get a great discount on a replacement seat for your child.
Most locations are extremely selective when it comes to used car seats, even if they are still in perfect shape.
However, certain organizations may continue to accept them. Inform them regarding the cars condition, so they know what to expect.
After all, you dont want to jeopardize the safety of anyone.
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Car Seat Recycling & Donation In Hawaii
- HOPE, Inc. Accepts baby clothing, car seats, and furniture. 51-075 Halai St. Hau’ula, HI 96717, 293-9266.
- Caterkids is a not-for-profit organization. People with limited resources can buy things at half the price. Caterkids either buy the things available for sale or they are donated by people. However, they dont purchase all kinds of car seats in case they dont buy your car seat, you can donate it to them.
Did You Know That
Canadians can not legally use an American, European, or a car seat from another country in Canada. It may be tempting, as car seats are usually much cheaper south of the border. Yet car seat and booster seat manufacturers produce seats specifically for the Canadian market according to Transport Canadas strict requirements which sometimes differ from that of other countries.
Canada-certified baby gear will have this round label on it:
If you visit Canada briefly, you may be exempt in certain circumstances, depending on the province regulations. Similarly, if you visit the United States for a vacation, you can bring with you and use your international car seat.
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Recycling Programs In Canada
In Canada, all recycling programs are provincially regulated.
In British Columbia for example, child car seats are not included in government recycling programs. There are some private options available. To find out if there’s a recycling option in your area contact the Recycling Council of BC 604- 732-9253 or 1-800-667-4321.
As of this writing, the following places recycle car seats. But since the terms are constantly changing, please call ahead to confirm before you head out to their drop off location.
Canada-wide
TerraCycle.ca has an active program of recycling any non-electronic baby gear.
How it works: you buy a box from them, pack the stuff and ship to them.
The collected car seat is manually separated into fabrics, metals, and plastics. Fabrics are reused, upcycled, or recycled as appropriate. Metals are melted so they may be recycled. The plastics undergo extrusion and pelletization to be molded into new recycled plastic products.
Yes, you will have to pay TerraCycle for recycling, sometimes quite a bit . But in the end, you can rest assured your car seat did not end up in a landfill. Something your kids will say thank you to you down the road.
British Columbia
Pacific Mobile Depots will recycle car seats for a fee of $13 if you fully dismantle it. Or a bit of a larger fee of $20 if they roam the destruction on your behalf!
Gibsons Recycling Cost is $5 per seat.
Waste Control Services $7 per car seat
Used Car Seat Checklist
It pays to be sure. Do your research. Have your seat checked. When in doubt, recycle it.
Kids use an average of three car seats before moving to a standard seat belt. Reusing a car seat can be an option to reduce waste and save costs, but only if you can answer yes to all of these questions. If not, please keep your children safe by recycling the seat.
The car seat can be reused if it:
Has not been in a crash and is not visibly damaged.
Has all its parts, including hardware, harness and tether straps.
Has an instruction book.
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Disposing Of A Reusable Car Seat
Step 1: Contact parents you know. Reach out to the parents you know to see if they need a car seat.
Many people are hesitant to buy used car seats, in case theyre no longer in safe condition. As a result, its a good idea to look for people you know who need car seats, as theyre more likely to trust you when you tell them that the seat is still safe to use.
Email or call any parents you know with young children, or leave a flyer advertising the car seat at your childs preschool or daycare center.
- Tip: Since car seats can be very expensive, you may be able to find a friend whos willing to pay you a chunk of change for your used car seat.
Step 2: Donate the seat. Donate the car seat to a shelter or donation center.
Reach out to local shelters, as well as donation centers such as Goodwill, and see if any of them are interested in a safe-to-use old car seat.
Some of these places may not take car seat donations, in case the seats are no longer safe, but others will accept donations to help parents who cannot afford car seats.
Step 3: List the seat on Craigslist. Try to sell the car seat on Craigslist.
If you cant find anyone you know who needs your car seat, and your local shelters or donation centers wont accept it as a donation, try selling it on Craigslist.
Be sure to specify that your car seat has not been in an accident, and has not yet expired, otherwise people may not be interested in buying it.
Can Car Seats Be Reused
There may be some cases where a seat can be reused. Personally, we dont recommend the reselling or purchasing of used car seats because you cant be 100 percent sure of the quality. However, if youre using it again for your own family, it may be fine.
So, when can you reuse an old car seat?
- It isnt expired: A car seat is technically still good up until the date manufacturers give. We recommend not using it within a month or two of the date to give yourself plenty of time to replace it.
- It hasnt been in an accident: Minor accidents dont automatically destroy a car seats integrity. However, if the seat has been in a moderate to severe crash, its recommended to replace it immediately . Some car seat manufacturers require you to replace the car seat after any crash, even if it was only minor.
- Its clean: Of course, you dont want your second child to have to use a dirty car seat. If you want to reuse the seat, make sure to give it a good scrub down. Be sure to follow the cleaning instructions in your car seat manual. This is especially important if its been packed away for a bit.
- Its still in good condition: Check for broken pieces or other wear and tear. Be sure to look under the fabric cover to fully inspect the seat. Even the smallest nick can render a seat unusable.
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Can I Recycle My Old Car Seat
Baby products, and child car seats in particular, are a product area where its very difficult to recycle them once youve finished using them.
The various materials that make up a car seat moulded composite plastic, foam, polystyrene, synthetic fabrics are hard to separate and its not always clear if they are even suitable for recycling.
However, according to some manufacturers, it is a possibility.
In September 2021, Silver Cross launched a recycling service for its car seats, with customers able to book a collection for the car seat to be recycled free of charge. At the recycling plant, the team use specialist lasers to separate the recyclable materials, which can then be used in the production of other products and packaging across a variety of industries – with absolutely nothing going to landfill.
Ivan McCullough, QA and product development manager at Maxi-Cosi, says:
At Maxi-Cosi, recycling is important to us and our customer care department is frequently asked about our policy on this.
The great news is that our car seats can be recycled. When a product has come to the end of its use, consumers can take their car seat to their local recycling centre, where they will break it down into separate components and recycle each part separately.’
But is it really as simple as this?
We checked with Simon Ellin, CEO of the Recycling Association, who told us:
Remember, not all councils will be able to offer this, so make sure you check with your local centre.
