Child car seats can reduce the risk of serious injury or death in young children by up to 90% in the event of a collision. However, they are not designed to last indefinitely, and most have a lifespan of 7 to 10 years.
Did you know? Once car seats have reached the end of their useful life, 85,000-100,000 car seats are thrown into the landfill each year.
But, these car seats don’t need to end up in the landfill. In fact, once deconstructed, all the parts of a child’s car seat can be given a completely new life.
It’s a manually-intensive process: each car seat can take up to 45 minutes to deconstruct, optimizing each part for recycling from the plastic shell, right down to the foam and textiles.
As it stands now, and according to BCAA, child car seats are not included in a provincially regulated recycling program in BC, but some municipalities have programs in place for recycling child car seats – one of them being Reclaim Plastics in Burnaby.
At Reclaim Plastics, we’ll help you to divert these materials from local landfills, helping to aid BC’s circular economy.
Using both a manual deconstruction process with hand tools and our state-of-the-art granulator, the polypropylene plastic shells are given a second life to create new auto parts, such as bumpers, or for roofing applications. The polypropylene can also be used for outdoor plastic furniture or plastic lumber.
The metal frame and rivets are able to create new steel products, while the foam is used for underlay, sound proofing or even picture frames. The fabric and textiles can be repurposed for the production of cement.
Reclaim Plastics has collected, processed and recycled over 1,500 car seats to-date, and we’re currently working with community partners at United We Can and Fraser Valley Regional District to build on this momentum.
Do you have used or expired car seats that need to be disposed of? We have capacity and we’re ready to recycle yours for a small fee. Call or email us today to get a quote or schedule a pick-up or drop-off*.
This Earth Day, we’re helping to create a more sustainable BC for future generations—your kids and their kids that have outgrown their car seats.
At Reclaim Plastics, we specialize in hard-to-recycle, post-industrial plastics such as car bumpers, headlights, windshields, car seats, solar panels, crates, trays, pallets, and more, as well as certified green product destruction, to ensure the highest sustainability standards for confidential product disposal. We offer scheduled pick-ups and drop offs, delivering advanced plastic recycling solutions across Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island and Interior BC, ensuring you can responsibly manage your plastic waste.
*We kindly request that all drop-offs are by appointment only.