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Free Car Seat Recycling Service

Keep Them Out of Landfills

* Donate Your Pre-Owned Car Seats *

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Not sure what to do with your outgrown, crashed, or expired car seats?

How-To-SAFETY’s car seat recycling service gives you an opportunity to help the environment and potentially assist another parent. If you or someone you know is in need of a car seat, please contact us to find out what donated seats are available and how we can help.

Contact us for more information, to donate a seat, or to find out what seats are currently available.

What kind of car seats are accepted?

We gladly accept any car seat, in most conditions. You can bring us car seats that are still safe to use for repurposing, as well as car seats that are expired or have been involved in a collision for proper disposal.

What are the service costs?

We provide the service as a courtesy for the Staten Island community. We do not purchase your seat, and the service is FREE to you. We also do not profit from your car seat.

Why donate to How-To-Safety?

How-To-Safety’s child passenger safety professionals often see parents come to us for installation help with car seats that are no longer safe to use for children. These car seats are hand-me-downs, purchased from thrift shops, or even picked-up from the curb. By removing these seats from circulation and disposing them properly, we can prevent children from being injured in motor vehicle crashes.

What happens to your car seat?

Used car seats turned in for recycling are evaluated for potential future use.

  • Car seats that are still safe are cleaned and offered to a new family.  A donation waiver form is required for any seat that will be used to transport a child again.  Read more about how to tell if your used car seat is safe. When a seat is donated to a family, we educate the recipient about proper use and help with installation at no cost to them.
  • Seats that cannot be reused are dismantled and recycled — keeping them out of landfills.  Car seats that are not longer safe to use, crashed, or expired will be disposed of properly.  This process is intended to limit landfill waste and recycle as much of the materials as possible. It also prevents the car seat from being picked up from the curb by a parent who does not know of the hazard.
    • Plastics and metals are recycled.
    • Foam, harness, and some fabric goes to landfill.
    • Some fabric is sent out to be repurposed.
  • Car seats that are not safe to use but in good condition, may be used as teaching tools to demonstrate proper use to parents and to train technicians.

How you can properly dispose of your own car seat?

1. Remove/cut all fabric and padding.
2. Remove all screws and disassemble the restraint as much as possible.
3. Recycle all plastic and metal parts and discard the rest as per local sanitation regulations.
If you are unable to disassemble the seat completely, cut it’s straps and remove the fabric. With a visible marker, write on the shell “Not Safe – Do NOT Use” before putting it curbside for sanitation.

Contact us for more information, to donate a seat, or to find out what seats are currently available.

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