Recycling child/baby car seats

[Reaa]

Is there anywhere that recycles car seats?

If you can't sell them or pass them on any more due to safety reasons, what are you meant to do with them?

Can the plastic even be recycled?

I gave away mine to friends/family

I have two and I just don't know what to do with them. Seems a shame to just chuck them.

I'm wondering the same. I think I read that some fire departments would take them? For practice?

People will take them on Freecycle or Freegle. There's the official advice but the truth is many people just can't afford them new.

People will also take them as spares for grandparents cars etc.

I'd like to know this too. I don't want to Freecycle/pass ours on for actual use as morally feel it's wrong because I can't guarantee its safety now it's old and been in a loft. But just taking it to the tip seems a shame. Maybe I'll look into the fire dept thing.

This is where things look a bit different depending on if you're selling/giving away or buying/receiving. If you know your seat hasn't been in an accident, there's nothing wrong or unethical in giving it away to people who can't afford a new seat. However, as a buyer you're obviously taking a big risk in buying secondhand and ideally shouldn't.

If a seat has been in an accident you can take it to a recycling centre/tip but you should cut the straps so it can't be used.

Fwiw I would totally give away an outgrown seat that hadn't been in an accident as I'd consider that a win of helping someone who needed it get a good seat and reducing the environmental impact.

Yes, I would ring your local fire station and see if they want it for practice.

How many can the local fire service really want though? Considering most children will go through 2,3,4 car seats.. it’s a hell of a lot. There should be a way of recycling.

It's awful isn't it? I know safety is a primary concern but the waste of materials involved sickens me. Surely they could be safely reused or refurbished. I ended up taking our old ones to the tip.

Yes the waste sickens me too. All that plastic I'd happily give mine away if I knew it was safe but I don't know if the plastic is still ok or gone brittle.