Can You Recycle Car Seats?
Cars! Having them is an important thing in the 21st century. The elegance, ease, and comfort they provide are just as fantastic as you can think of. If you add the privacy and luxury they provide, compared to the public bus or taxis, you will discover that there should be nothing stopping you from getting a car when you can.
Having a car may seem like the ultimate thing, but your safety and that of your kids are also important. While you may be able to ensure yours, you can’t say the same for your kids. This is why many people have bought into the idea of a car seat for their kids. But then, what comes with the popular use of car seats raises some environmental issues that we need to consider.
As a result, in this post, we will be considering some of the various implications car seats may have on the environment. We will be looking at whether car seats are recyclable or whether you can put car seats in the recycling bin. Also, we will look at the possibility of donating your used car seats, how long car seats last, and lastly, what are the ways to reuse your old car seats.
This post will be well-packed with quality information that you can’t afford to miss. So, what do you do? Nothing much; simply relax, pay attention and enjoy the outburst of valuable information on car seats. Let’s go!
Are Car Seats Recyclable?
No doubt, car seats are important in a car, but does their importance make them recyclable? This is a valid question we all need to find answers to. The good news is that you don’t need to search south before getting the answers because we already have it here. So, if you are ready, let’s go.
Car seats are quite difficult to recycle, and hardly will you see a recycling station willing to accept them for recycling. The reason for this is because of the nature of a car seat. If you have examined a car seat before, you will discover that it is a combination of different materials. You will see iron materials, plastic materials, hard foam, leather, and fiber materials in a typical car seat.
All these materials have been combined to give the car seat a durable and long-lasting ability. However, the problem is that these materials have different recycling ways and processes, and as such, they make recycling a car seat difficult.
The way out of this is to first separate the different materials used in making the car seats and then recycle them accordingly. But then, this does not come as easy as it sounds. It will require the time, efforts, and resources of the recycling stations, which they could have devoted to recycling other materials. this is why many recycling stations don’t include car seats as one of their acceptable materials.
If, however, you feel the pressing need to recycle your car seats, then you might have to take up the duty of separating the different materials yourself. Then, you have to send the separated materials for recycling. Without these or the recycling company’s willingness to take up separating the materials of the car seats, there might be no possibility of recycling car seats.
Can I Put A Car Seat In Recycle Bin?
Car seats in the recycling bin look like something everyone wants to try out. If not for anything, at least to see whether the recycling station will help dispose of it or not. Well, if you are one of these people, this is the proper time to drop that idea. Why though? Let’s find out together.
From the information we provided in the preceding segment on whether car seats are recyclable, you would have seen that, for the most part, car seats are not recyclable. This state of things alone questions why you will want to put a material that won’t be accepted for recycling inside the recycling bin.
Also, the size of a car seat makes it almost impossible for you to put it in the recycling bin. The option you have is to place the car seat beside your recycling bin. And guess what? Since they are not even considered for recycling, the recycling stations would gladly ignore them, and this might constitute a new round of pollution for the environment.
The only situation where you can put your car seats in the recycling bin is where you have separated the different materials used to make the car seat. This way, you can put the ones that are considered recyclable inside the recycling bin. The rest that is not recyclable can be upcycled for different things around the home or disposed of in the waste bin if they won’t serve any useful purpose.
Can You Donate Used Car Seats?
The desire to donate and help others is often innate in humans. For no obvious reason, we sometimes look around our homes and offices for things we do not need and consider donating. This is a good way to live, and it should be encouraged. But then, when searching for things to donate, do car seats fall into that group? We know you are curious about the answer, so let’s get to it.
Donating used car seats is a tricky issue. Though you might intend to further a charity course, you should slow down a bit with your car seats. In fact, some charities might accept your car seat donations, and some may not accept them. For those that didn’t accept it, they have obvious reasons for that.
When you donate car seats, there is a greater likelihood that they would be used in a car. This is where the problem is. Because the person accepting the donation does not know the car seats’ history, it might be dangerous for them to use it in their car because the car seat might have some internal damage or might have been involved in a car accident. This can go a long way to affect safety in a car, and this is why even buying a used car seat is not advisable.
So, as you can see, it seems car seats make an exception to donating everything one has. If you care about your safety, don’t buy or accept donations of used car seats. You have a responsibility not to also sell or donate used car seats.
How Long Do Car Seats Last?
Like every other thing, car seats don’t remain durable for life; they also expire. Though it is hard to place a finger on a certain number of years that your car seat lasts, there are still strong and valid speculations that they last between 6 and 10 years. Anything beyond 10 years may begin to raise serious safety issues for you and your loved ones.
These car seats can only last for this number of years because of the serious possibility of wear and tear. It could be that the car seats need to be recalled by the manufacturing company. It might also be because of some general standards and changing regulations where you stay or that the car seats’ testing limits have been exhausted.
Whatever may be the case, when you notice that your car seats have been used between six and ten years, you should change them. For safety measures, you don’t even have to wait up to this point before you change them. Once you notice that the car seats are no longer durable, then you should change them.
Luckily, many manufacturing companies have made searching for the expiring date of your car seats possible. All you have to do is search the manufacturer’s website for the page dedicated to providing safety information on car seats. There, you can run a search to know the expiry date of your car seats.
What Can You Do With An Old Car Seat?
In today’s world, hardly can you point out anything useless. What is often lacking is the creativity and time to repurpose those old materials. With regards to car seats, there is less to worry about. In this segment, we will be giving you information on the things you can do with old car seats. What you have to do is create time to put this into practice. So, if you are ready, we are ready.
1. Use The Paddings And Straps For Your Handbags
The paddings and Straps of a car seat are always useful when you want to make a handbag. What you have to do is cut out the straps and sew them gently to make your handbag. Since you know what shape your handbag will take, you can style the paddings and straps to fit your intended purpose.
2. Use As Pet Beds
Your pets won’t love anything more than having a comfortable place to rest. However, instead of spending extra cash to buy your pet a bed, you can convert your car seats to a pet bed. This comes pretty easy; you don’t have to spend a dime; just place the car seats where your pet can find it and teach it to sleep on it.
3. Make A Baby Swing
You can always make a baby swing out of your old car seats. How do you go about this, though? You have to fasten the car seats to two strong ropes or chains on opposite sides like the usual swing. With this, you are good to allow your kids to go to and fro on the swing.
4. Make A Pretend Play Carrier For Your kids
Kids’ ambitions can be diverse most times. And, as a parent, you don’t want to stand in the way of such ambitions. If your kids are nursing ambitions of becoming a spaceship captain, you can use the old car seats as a spaceship captain chair. You can also repurpose the car seats for as many things as possible to encourage your children’s ambitions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Can I Sell Or Donate Car Seat?
Generally, you shouldn’t accept donations of car seats or buy one because of the risk of an internal fault. However, if you are certain that there’s has been no accident with the car seat, there is no internal fault, and it hasn’t expired, you can accept it for donation or buy used ones. You can also donate it or sell it.
2. Should I Be Worried That My Car Seat Has Expired?
Yes, you should. When your car seat expires, it means that it has lost its durability and it is not safe for use again. This is why you should be worried about changing it.
Do Car Seats Pose Any Harm To My Kids?
Unfortunately, if you are not careful, car seats may pose some significant risks for your kids. For instance, the straps and paddings pose a strangulation risk, and using it as a swing may pose a fall risk. This is why you should be careful when using car seats.
Conclusion
Car seats are in great use in today’s world. This indirectly has raised the potential of them hurting the environment. But, like always, there is a way out. And that is by you taking responsibilities to manage the disposal of your car seats. You have seen what to do above; the ball is now in your court.
Sources:
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/upcycle-your-expired-child-car-seat/ https://www.healthline.com/health/baby/car-seat-expiration#finding-the-expiration-date https://www.thecarconnection.com/tips-article/1089626_what-should-you-do-with-an-outgrown-car-seat
