When to Dispose Of A Car Seat And Where To Recycle it?
If you’ve got kids, you know that there is one constant with them: they are always outgrowing things. Clothes. Toys. Furniture. All of these things have a lifecycle associated with the development of your children.
And now that the kids have grown out of them, just like their old clothes and toys, that car seat is probably taking up storage space on an attic or garage.
It’s time to let go of that old stuff, but just in case you need a better reason than just freeing up garage space, here are the top 4 reasons when you should dispose of a car seat and where to recycle it.
1. When The Car Seat Is Expired
Car seats have an expiration date mandated by their manufacturers to ensure top levels of safety. Usually, a child passenger safety seat expires 5 to 6 years after the manufacture date. Once a car seat has reached that expiration date, unlike those toys and clothes, they can no longer be donated.
2. When The Car Seat Was In An Accident
If a car seat is involved in a crash or in even a minor traffic accident, it needs to be replaced. Even if you can’t see external damage, even a minor car accident can cause internal damage to a car seat that you can’t see. Insurance companies understand this and are quick to replace car seats after accidents, so there is no need to hold on to them.
3. When The Car Seat Is Part Of A Product Recall
Keeping kids safe is primordial. However, even with the strictest design and manufacturing standards, there are always going to be product recalls. It’s just a reality of mass manufacturing. If your car seat was replaced by the manufacturer because of a recall, chances are will not be offered a trade-in program as you update your infant, toddler, or booster car seat. There is no reason to hold on the recalled car seat, it has been deemed unsafe and isn’t eligible to donate.
4. When The Car Seat is Broken or Worn Out
With daily use comes wear and tear, and even the most expensive models, will eventually wear out. Then you have to factor in the normal abuse that a car seat experiences. Spills, accidents, crumbs, and anything else a kid can do to them. By the end of their life cycle, car seats have definitely seen better days.
Where To Recycle A Kid’s Car Seat?
If you’ve missed the limited window when a car seat is able to be donated, like most people, you’ve now got a 15-pound piece of clutter taking up space somewhere. Don’t feel bad. Car seat donation programs are limited even in the best of circumstances, local recycling options are almost nonexistent and retailers take-back programs are limited to a few days a year.
Don’t fret – there is still a way to handle that car seat in a responsible manner.
All you have to do is select one of our car seat recycling solutions. Either order a shipping label and re-use a box readily available to ship the used car seat to one of our recycling centers, or, if you don’t have a box, you can order a recycling kit.
Then follow the instructions for bagging it up with the included bag, slap the pre-paid shipping label on it, and drop it off at your nearest UPS-authorized shipping center. We will get it to our team of professional dismantlers to ensure that every single piece of recyclable material gets put back into the supply chain in a responsible and sustainable way.
We turn that clutter into something useful.
It’s the best option to make sure that the equipment that protects your kids will go on to protect the environment.
