What to Do With Old Car Seats: Sell, Donate, or Recycle?
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For a lot of parents, knowing what to do with old car seats is a dilemma.
If you don’t have anyone close to pass them off to quickly, it’s common for these bulky car seats to clutter up your storage space and garage.
More often than not, you’d have to buy one or two different car seats for various stages in your child's development, which can create unnecessary clutter.
What’s more, any parent can tell you how fast your baby will grow! As such, knowing what to do with old car seats will come in handy.
Luckily, we have come up with a couple of different ways you can do to your old baby car seats so that they don’t end up in landfills.
What to Do With Old Car Seats?
In today's modern world, the importance of recycling and preventing perfectly functional items from going to landfills is becoming increasingly important.
When it comes to car seats, you can either sell them or pass it on free of charge to someone in need.
Before you do, though, you need to take into account a couple of essential factors, such as the age of the car seat and the condition of the safety features.
The cleanliness of the fabric and whether you can afford to give it away is also vital.
If you need a little bit of extra money for yourself and your children, then you may not be able to afford to give it away.
On the other hand, someone that would otherwise struggle with the costs associated with having a baby will especially appreciate your old one.
You also have to be aware of the fact that most baby car seats are legally considered unsafe to use after six years from the date of production.
This is the most important factor that will determine whether you can sell your used car seat or if you should recycle it.
Without question, the safety of babies should be the first priority.
The main focus of this informative article, however, is reducing the number of car seats that end up not being recycled and cluttering up the landfills here and overseas.
1. Sell Via Websites
There are plenty of second-hand or buy-and-sell websites available for you to list your baby car seat almost free of charge.
These sites allow you to list your items with the price you have in mind.
The use of these sites is usually free of charge, too. However, some of them require a tiny percentage of the sale, should your item be sold.
When listing your item, it’s important to include high-quality images of the product you are selling from different angles.
Make sure that the pictures clearly show any damage or wear and tear.
It is unusual to list your second-hand item for more or the same price as it was when it was purchased brand new.
The most important thing is that the car seat must still be functional with no wear and tear that could compromise the safety of the new owner's infant or baby.
2. Trade Your Baby Car Seat at a Mother-and-Baby Store
If you are having a cleanout, you may find that you have several old items that were once used for and by your newborn.
If those items are too old and frail to be reused or passed on, we have a perfect solution for you.
Rather than just leaving it out for the garbage man, we urge you to do a little research and see if a local mother-and-baby store has a trade-in day.
These occur periodically, and the stores will accept all baby gear regardless of their condition or age.
Even if you have already had a car accident and your baby seat is no longer safe to use, they will still accept it.
Instead of purchasing your old or damaged item, they will often offer a discount to use in-store, which is usually around 20 percent.
If you have grown children, you can even pass on this discount to a friend or family member.
These stores always adhere to strict safety requirements and will never resell the old equipment that was traded in.
Instead, they will ensure that everything is recycled in the most ethical and sustainable way possible.
3. Donation to Charity or Organization
Many non-profit shops will gladly accept your donated baby car seat. However, as mentioned above, you need to ensure that your baby car seat is under six years old.
You should also ensure that all of the safety features (straps, buckles, and padding) are intact and that your car seat is clean and safe for future use.
If it has been stored in your garage for many years, you need to make sure that it is still in a usable condition.
Even the smallest bit of mold or dust could trigger an allergic reaction, so please be sure it is safe to pass on.
Not everyone out there is fortunate enough to have the money for a brand-new baby car seat. By donating yours, you can help a fellow parent in need.
4. Proper and Safe Disposal
If you have taken all of the above into consideration and none are feasible for you, your last resort may be the safe disposal of your old baby car seat.
As we all know, the items we leave out for our garbage men can be taken by opportunists desperate to make some quick money.
Morally, it is essential that if your car seat is damaged beyond repair, we mark it in a way that prevents it from being resold or reused.
We recommend you cut the straps, remove the padding and spray-paint “damaged” on the car seat before leaving it out on the street.
That way, you can sleep well, knowing that no one else's baby is in harm's way.
Some recycling centers will accept old baby car seats, so if you can find one locally, we recommend you drop it off there.
At least this way, we can re-purpose it and keep it out of the landfills.
Out With the Old
We hope that these options have opened your eyes and educated you in the correct and sustainable way of disposing of your old baby car seat.
As you see, you have many options; all you have to do now is work out which method works best for you!