Safe Kids Maricopa County will hold their 9th annual “Keep our Planet Neat, Recycle your Car Seat Demolition” event where volunteers will take apart old car seats.
James Garnand, a NARPRO member and a certified car seat specialist, says that it’s important to keep old car seats out of landfills and especially other cars.
“You buy one brand new and it comes in fresh packaging, you know that it's good,” says Garnand. “But it's hard to tell if you found one of these sitting by the side of the road, or somebody was selling it second-hand, so it's really not a good idea to buy or sell a child's seat.”
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Most car seats expire within six years of the manufacture date, and the harness can break through the car seat if a car seat is used past its expiration date.
Once car seats are expired or in a crash, they should be recycled. Most of the materials can be put to good use. The padding from the seats is used in animal shelters for beds, and the hard foam can be repurposed for building materials.
Last year, more than 1000 car seats were recycled at the event. This year, the event will be on Saturday, April 22.
IF YOU GO: Hi-Tech Car Care 2924 E. Thomas Road
