What To Do With An Old Car Seat?

Car seats are a big part of your life from the moment you have a baby until your child reaches the big milestone of no longer even needing a booster seat (they must meet one of the following criteria:  need to be 8 years old OR 80lbs OR 4 foot 9 inches).  But from the time you install the first bucket seat until they meet those big kid/no more booster seat requirements you can go through several car seats.  Add in siblings and chances are you will end up with several car seats that either become outgrown or expired.  So, what do you do with them?

Here is what you need to do with car seats that are expired or that you no longer need (thanks to S.E.A.T.S for Kids Canada for providing this great information):
 

• Cut the straps
• Take out the foam and take off the fabric
• Take off the cover, write "EXPIRED" or "CRASHED" or "NOT SAFE TO USE" on the shell of the seat with a marker. 
• Feel free to bash it in a little if you like and put it in garbage bags. and make it unusable before disposing of it. 

Currently, there is no service that recycles car seats so taking the steps to properly dispose of them is the best plan to follow.

However, Health Canada does provide the following information on their website:

Car seats must have a National Safety Mark and meet current regulatory requirements. Remember that it is illegal to sell car seats that do not meet the current regulatory requirements. You should always check with the manufacturer before selling a car seat. Car seats must come with warnings, guidelines for use, installation instructions, and date of manufacture. Do not sell a car seat that is past the lifespan recommended by the manufacturer or that has been in a vehicle during a collision. Before selling a used car seat, check with Transport Canada (1-800-333-0371 or www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety) for more information and to find out if the car seat has been recalled. Also, be sure that it is in good condition with no missing parts and with functioning anchoring systems.