Buy Buy Baby Car Seat Trade in 2019

Strange how machine seats get from one of the nigh important safety items y'all tin buy for your precious cargo to completely useless lumps of plastic in almost no fourth dimension at all. Because kids grow fast. Beginning, they're as well big for their infant car seats; then they've outgrown their toddler seats and boosters, too. This presents a recurring dilemma: What do parents practice with their onetime auto seats when they're done with them — specially if they've reached that all-of import, not-to-be-ignored expiration date?

Related story The All-time Car Seats Real Moms Swear By

For many parents, the answer ends up being something like "let that chunk of plastic sit down in the corner of your garage collecting dust until yous effigy out what to do with it." And then, eventually, you cave and toss it, and it sits in a landfill with countless other car seats. And sure, throwing it away seems the easiest pick, just it'due south certainly not the most earth-friendly — and luckily, there are better options for what to exercise with old car seats: recycling and merchandise-in programs.

Only before we get into that, let'due south talk nigh what you shouldn't do with a automobile seat: donate or sell information technology if the car seat is expired, has been recalled, or has been in an accident. The plastic that protected your child then well won't exercise so anymore if it's been broken, cracked, or degraded past the elements. The last thing you want to do is take a chance another child'due south life.

That said, here are a few things you tin practise to end that expired car seat's life nicely.

Target car seat trade-in event

In honor of Babe Safety Calendar month this September, Target'due south semi-annual Car Seat Trade-in program is back — and shelves are stocked with new brands to notice and honey. From Sun, Sept. 12 to Saturday, Sept. 25, you tin head to a participating Target shop (which is about of them) to merchandise in your old auto seats and receive a coupon for 20 per centum off a new car seat, stroller, or select babe gear. To use the coupon, you'll demand to enroll in the complimentary Target Circle rewards program (you can sign upward there or just go hither to create an account).

According to the retailer, the old seats will exist recycled and turned into items like plastic buckets, pallets, and carpeting padding. The program has reportedly washed this with i,100,000 car seats, or more than 17 one thousand thousand pounds of plastic, since information technology began in 2016.

So, proceed your eyes peeled for trade-in events like this i.

Other trade-in programs

Walmart has offered a similar deal in years past, but they haven't announced one in a while. We'll report information technology here when they practise.

Car seat maker Clek volition recycle your seat (of any brand, non necessarily theirs) in a slightly convoluted way. You'll have to purchase a shipping label from the site for $35.99-$49.99, which comes with a custom aircraft and recycling bag to send the machine seat back to them. Then you lot'll become a credit for either a $10 off or 10 percent off coupon to use toward a purchase on the Clek site.

Reuse

Earlier, we discussed not selling or donating a car seat if it has been in an accident, is expired, or was recalled. However, you tin can reuse or laissez passer forth the seat if it's still in good status and doesn't fall into any of those aforementioned categories. To find out if your car seat qualifies for reuse, answer the questions on Consumer Reports' website.

Recycle

According to Recycle Your Car Seat, curbside recycling programs do not typically take children'due south motorcar seats, fifty-fifty if y'all take them autonomously first.

Currently, 12 states have recycling options for car seats; you tin can detect a list of programs on RYCS's website. If a program doesn't be nearly yous, you lot can still recycle as much of the seat as you can yourself. But before you begin dismantling, ask your local section of public works if the plastic from the seat is accepted in the local recycling program. If it is, then go to it!

Consumer Reports compiled the following list of tips from the recycling program in Ann Arbor, Michigan:

1. Commencement, employ pair of scissors to cut off the fabric, foam padding, and harness straps from the seat.
2. Use a Phillips-head screwdriver to remove as much metal equally possible.
3. Remove the machine seat encompass and whatsoever padding underneath it.
4. Discard the fabric, foam padding, straps, and mixed metal-plastic pieces and pocket-size plastic pieces.
5. Marker the plastic as expired or dangerous.
6. Recycle the beefy plastic torso and all-metallic pieces.

Have someone else exercise the recycling for yous

There's 1 more pick for the truly dedicated environmentalists out at that place: You can pay Terracycle to recycle your car seat and other baby gear. Buy a box from the site, with prices ranging from $116 for an 11″x11″x20″ box to $217 for a 15″x15″x37″ box, stuff your used babe gear inside, and ship it off. This is not an cheap solution, but we are at the whims of manufacturers and recycling plants. You may instead simply want to hold onto that seat until the next free automobile-seat trade-in program next year.

A version of this story was originally published in September 2019.

Our mission at SheKnows is to empower and inspire women, and we only characteristic products we call up you'll dear as much as we exercise. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link inside this story, we may receive a modest committee of the sale.

You can likewise reduce waste matter by buying toys made from recycled materials, like those fabricated by some of these great toy brands.

Buy Buy Baby Car Seat Trade in 2019

Source: https://www.sheknows.com/feature/what-to-do-with-an-expired-car-seat-966293/

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