As we know, car seats have an expiration date of 6 years, on average, from the manufacturer’s date. Once this expiration date is reached, the seat is no longer safe to use. When you throw away a car seat, a bulky mix of plastic, fabric and metal is added to the landfill. So we can recycling of car seats.
Fortunately, 90% of car seat materials are recyclable.
Recycling of car seats
The first step is recycling the seat. This will depend on what services exist in your area. These are your options.
Find a car seat recycling program in your area. This is the easiest way to recycle your seat if a program is available near you. These programs accept the entire seat without disassembly.
For example, in some cities, there are recycling programs that offer drop-off locations for old car seats. To find a local program, Google (city or area) car seat recycling programs.
Contact your local recycling centre. Bulky car seat parts can often be recycled just like other household items. Call the recycling centre for details. In most cases, it is necessary to remove the car seat.
You should cut the security straps (so they cannot be reused) and remove any soft fabric or padding. Bulky pieces of plastic and metal can be collected at the curb or in nearby recycling bins. To find the contact information for your local recycling centre, Google it: recycling centre (city or area).
Send your seat to a recycling center by mail. This has a few advantages: they don’t have to disassemble the car seat, and they recycle every bit of it they can. On the downside, you need to pay the shipping cost to ship the seat.
I recommend UPS, as it should be the cheapest method for a large, heavy seat. We accept mail from anywhere or deliver mail to Austin, TX.
What types of car seats are fully recyclable?
Currently, there is only one car seat model that is fully recyclable through the manufacturer – the Clek Foonf. Through the Clek recycling program, you can pay $ 20 to send your seat back for recycling. You will receive a $ 20 coupon for purchasing a Clek seat in return.
I hope more manufacturers will follow suit and offer recycling programs in the future. In the meantime, remember that almost all materials used in today’s seats can be recycled if you find the best recycling method.
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