How Do You Recycle Old Car Seats?
When you’re finished with a child car seat, it’s difficult to think of simply tossing it into the trash when most of the materials it’s made from are recyclable. Unfortunately, due to the way they’re made, there are very few recycling options for them. Car seats cannot be used if they’ve expired or have been in an accident (with certain minor accidents excepted). Standard recycling centers often do not accept car seats because they lack the necessary staff to disassemble and sort all the pieces. Some communities have combined recycling and installation events, however, or you can take the seat apart and sort it yourself. Determine whether your car seat is still safely usable by checking its expiration date. This will be stamped onto the seat, on the tag, or in the user manual. If you do not know when the seat expires, you will need to throw it into the trash or recycle the pieces. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), if your car seat has been in any
