đ Earth Day: Reuse or Recycle âťď¸ Your Car Seat?

How Can We Protect Planet Earth đ While Having to Use So Much Baby Gear at the Same Time?
Earth Day is here and itâs important to all of us to maintain our planet so our children can grow up to enjoy its beautiful resources and benefit from its bounty. But with all the baby gear that goes along with having a little one, how can you decide what you truly need and how to get rid of it when youâre done?
Since we are carseat experts, weâre going to focus on carseats here. The first thing you need to know is that carseats are safety devices. They are designed to protect your child from injury or death in a sudden stop or crash. That may seem really obvious, but keep that in the back of your mind for now because itâs easy to lose sight of when youâre trying to make ends meet or reduce waste.
Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
We hear these three words a lot around Earth Day, so letâs look at how we can Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle when it comes to child passenger safety.
Reduce.
How can we reduce when it comes to carseats? Kids need to use carseats, right? Yep. And donât think about skipping the booster either, because thatâs a very needed step as a child grows older and larger. Here are some ways to reduce usage in carseats, though admittedly, thereâs not a lot you can safely do to reduce with carseats:
Infant Stage
Start out with a convertible (rear-facing/forward-facing) or all-in-one (rear-facing/forward-facing/booster) carseat instead of a rear-facing only infant seat. The vast majority of convertibles/all-in-ones start at 5 lbs. (some start at 4 lbs.), so they will fit small infants. Itâs a fallacy that you absolutely need the infant seat or that a hospital requires you to have one for discharge. It may be recommended, but thatâs not the same as required.
However, some convertibles/all-in-ones may start at 5 lbs., but they may not fit tiny babies well. This is where doing some research firstâreading reviews by trained experts and taking a small doll to the store to try the carseatâwill help. If you donât feel comfortable with the fit of a convertible carseat, by all means, use an infant seatâand if you have a preemie, youâre guaranteed to need an infant seat that fits preemies well. You can cut back in other areas of your life.
Toddler (2+)/Preschool Stage
Be forward-thinking. If your child needs a new carseat, think about the stage theyâre in right now, but also what you think you may do with the carseat in the future. Will they have a younger sibling who will use the carseat? If thatâs the case and they are already forward-facing, buying an all-in-one carseat that has rear-facing capabilities may make sense. If the seat wonât be handed down to a smaller sibling, that doesnât make sense and a forward-facing only seat may be more cost-efficient.
Booster Stage
This is the end stage of carseats and boosters take a lot of beating. A lot. Even the nicest boosters end up looking like theyâve been dragged behind the car. If your child is comfortable using a booster and doesnât sleep in the car, a backless booster works just fine.
Reuse.
Can we reuse carseats? This is a loaded question that has many branches to the answer. Letâs break it down.
Yes, if:
Itâs handed down from a sibling/family member
Hasnât expired
Wasnât in a crash as defined by the manufacturer
Has been washed according to manufacturer instructions
Has no recalls or has had recalls repaired
Yes, if:
Itâs from a trusted friend
Hasnât expired
Wasnât in a crash as defined by the manufacturer
Has been washed according to manufacturer instructions
Has no recalls or has had recalls repaired
No, if:
Itâs from a marketplace, like FB Marketplace, OfferUp, eBay, GoodBuy Gear, resale store, etc.
No, if:
Itâs from a garage sale, yard sale, rummage sale, etc.
Ask yourself: Do I trust the person selling me this carseat with my childâs life? Theyâre there to sell you a carseat to get it out of their life. They want it gone. Whatâs their motivation? Remember, this is a safety device designed to save your childâs life. You want it in tip-top shape, so purchasing the $80 brand-new carseat with less padding at the store is better than buying the $150 used carseat with all the trimmings from someone you donât know.
It may be missing labels you need to see but donât know to look for, or important parts.
That carseat thatâs 20 years old that was stored in someoneâs basement/attic/garage but looks in perfect condition because it was only used twice for the grandkids? Yeah, itâs a deathtrap.
Plastic degrades over time. Manufacturers put additives in plastic to give it strength for its designated purpose for a particular amount of time. Is a safety device really where you want to cut corners?
Recycle.
There are recycling programs for carseats and some manufacturers will help you with the process.
Ten years ago, Clek became the first carseat manufacturer to recycle their carseats. Now theyâve partnered with CarSeatRecycling.com to recycle all carseats.
You can also check with your local recycling company to see if they accept carseats. Some do!
Twice a year in April and September, Target partners with the Waste Management company for the Trade-In Event. Our Target Trade-In Event article has all the info you could possibly want on the event and as soon as the next dates are announced, we let you know too.
There you have it: three different ways to lighten the burden on our planet and I didnât even mention the steps some manufacturers are taking by making sure theyâre leaving behind a greener planetâthere are many!
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