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Recycling Challenge: Child Car Seats

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story by Samantha WittchenFACT: Americans are estimated to buy as many as 12 million car seats a year.

PROBLEM: Kids outgrow car seats, and the seats have expiration dates (usually five to six years after manufactured), as the materials eventually degrade from ultraviolet light exposure. So, parents generally buy multiple car seats for their children during the period when they are required by law to use one. These seats are made of plastic, metal, foam and fabric that could be recycled if the seats are deconstructed. Yet most car seats end up in a landfill, and there are only a handful of programs nationwide that accept car seats for recycling.

SOLUTION: Unfortunately, there aren’t any local establishments that accept used car seats, but that doesn’t mean you can’t recycle them. BabyEarth, an online baby products retailer, runs the BabyEarth RENEW program (babyearth.com/renew), which accepts things like car seats, strollers and high chairs for recycling. You have to foot the shipping bill (typically $20 to $30, depending on weight), but they’ll make sure the seats are dismantled and the component parts are recycled. Visit their website for specific mailing instructions. If you want to earn some green bonus points, write to your car seat manufacturer and ask them to become more environmentally responsible by implementing a car seat take-back program

4 Comments

  1. Now this is something really useful. Some of the baby stuff just gets thrown away when the baby outgrows it. This is really a smart move. Two thumbs up. By the way how do we send our used baby stuff to that company?

  2. Now this is something really useful. Some of the baby stuff just gets thrown away when the baby outgrows it. This is really a smart move. Two thumbs up. By the way how do we send our used baby stuff to that company?

  3. I've been looking in to what to do with my car seat. My son outgrew it, so I have to get a new one. Bu the old one comes as part of a three-in-one car seat/carrier/stroller combo from Graco. The stroller is awesome and I can still use it. So, I don't know whether to sell the car seat now as a separate piece before it expires (meaning I get considerably less money back than if I sold it as an entire three piece set) or store it and hope I can still sell it in two years?

    I'm going to look in to recycling programs for my seat if I never can sell it, but it would be such a waste. 🙁

  4. I've been looking in to what to do with my car seat. My son outgrew it, so I have to get a new one. Bu the old one comes as part of a three-in-one car seat/carrier/stroller combo from Graco. The stroller is awesome and I can still use it. So, I don't know whether to sell the car seat now as a separate piece before it expires (meaning I get considerably less money back than if I sold it as an entire three piece set) or store it and hope I can still sell it in two years?

    I'm going to look in to recycling programs for my seat if I never can sell it, but it would be such a waste. 🙁

  5. I love my car and I also love its internal designing. My car seats are beautifully designed and placed properly. My front seat gives me very much comfort, whenever I drives my car. It is so beautiful and I really enjoyed the trip with my wife and family this weekend. We had gone to a tourist place far from here in my car and the tour was really nice.

  6. I love my car and I also love its internal designing. My car seats are beautifully designed and placed properly. My front seat gives me very much comfort, whenever I drives my car. It is so beautiful and I really enjoyed the trip with my wife and family this weekend. We had gone to a tourist place far from here in my car and the tour was really nice.

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