Green Their Ride

Little kids need big stuff, and lots of it. Fortunately, the vast majority of baby bulkiness is easy to pass along to charities or sell at consignment stores.

Not so with car seats, however. Until now, these hunks of plastic, metal and polyester were only good as long as the purchasing family had babies or toddlers to fill them with. After that, buckets and boosters (as well as forward-facing five points) became fodder for the local landfill.

For a better ending to the wasteful car seat saga, there’s a new local company called Keepin’ Baby Safe.

They specialize in child car seat inspection and install at clinics throughout the city and in Airdrie for $10 most Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. They also do home visits which we highly endorse. Even the most seasoned parent could use a refresher on seat safety (and many weren’t taught in the first place).

Keepin’ Baby Safe also recycles car seats (yay) under company name Kid Seat Recyclers (in partnership with Melrose Kids and Friendly Earth). To be eligible for this service, car seats must be stripped of fabric, harnesses, tethers and metal—including screws. Expect to pay a $5 recycling levy (paid to the recycling company) and an additional $2 to have your car seat stripped for you (highly worth it).

If you know you have an expired car seat (look on the bottom of the seat for an expiration date), contact owner and mom of three, LaVonne Ries to arrange an appropriate drop-off time and place. At a recent community centre clinic, locals dropped off over 70 seats to be stripped and recycled.

Recycling is the ideal solution for seats past their expiration date (normally five to six of years from manufacture date). However, if you happen to possess a seat with at least three good years to go, that has never been in an accident and is in good condition (no damage), an even better solution is donation.

Kid Seat Recyclers has partnered with Women in Need to distribute these must-have items (that often retail in excess of $200) to disadvantaged women and families. Drop seats off at collection clinics at the SE WIN depot (on specified Mondays). Keep in mind you must be the original owner of the seat (receipt of purchase appreciated), the seat must have all its parts including manual and locking clip, and you will have to sign a waiver declaring the seat is accident-free.

Consider the stats—there are 18 thousand babies born in Calgary each year. If even half of those families buy seats, that’s 9000 baby buckets put into circulation (not to mention toddler seats and boosters). Unless recycled, all of those often usable seats will load the landfill within five to six years.

Stop the cycle and recycle or reuse your kid’s ride this fall at a clinic near you.