Recycling Usable (Safe) Child Restraints
As children grow, they can become too big for their child restraints. With the price of most car seats more than $100, many look for ways to make the most of the seat.
Common ways to recycle usable child restraints:
- Donate to local thrift shop or organization supporting low-income families
- Resell through consignment shop
- Give to an expectant family in your community, church, or family
Recycling Unusable (Unsafe) Child Restraints
Child restraints all become unusable at certain points, typically by expiring (expiration date is imprinted on the seat), or by being involved in a crash. At these points, the seats may look fine, but are actually not safe to properly restrain a child. "The plastic is actually what expires. It becomes brittle after that point and in a crash it may not withhold. The stress that it goes through, just the elements, but also the exposure to light does break down the type of plastic car seats are made of," said Michelle Armstrong, of Safe Kids Wausau Area.
Common ways to recycle UNusable child restraints:
- Disassemble the seat to separate the recyclable portion from the rest. Plastic and metal can be put into a standard recycling bin. The pad and straps on the other hand cannot be recycled easily.
- Dispose in a garbage receptacle with modifications to the seat. If the seat looks usable, someone may see the seat and take it out of the receptacle to use. For instance, remove the harnesses to steer someone away from pulling it from the garbage to use with their child.
- Find a local car seat fitting station that will dissassemble the child restraint for you. Many programs promote recycling on Earth Day in April.
Garbage workers do not try to disassemble a child restraint to recycle due to the time and effort in separating the parts.
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