Approximately 11 million child car seats are purchase each year in the United States and have a useful life of about six years, as stamped on the bottom of the frame. Did you know that, if disassembled properly, child car seats can be recycled?

The expiration date is due to research showing that the plastic materials degrade over time from ultraviolet light — intensified through the car windows — thus weakening the effectiveness of the plastic frame to withstand impact if involved in a crash.

Despite the age, any car seat involved in an automobile accident may be also compromised for safe use and should be removed from service, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Guidelines for recycling child car seats through the City of Ann Arbor’s recycling program are now available as part of Moss Children’s Hospital’s car seat safety program. When a car seat is ready to be disposed, it can be disassembled to remove and discard the padding and straps. All metal parts and large plastic pieces are accepted in Ann Arbor’s recycling carts and recycling dumpsters.

Large “bulky plastics” were added to the city’s single-stream recycling program in mid-2010. Detailed pictures and instructions for disassembling and recycling car seats are available on the the City's website.

In most cars, 90 percent of the materials, by weight, can be recycled, and there is the potential to divert a significant amount of material from landfills in the home recycling collection program.

The general public may also drop off the recyclable parts of disassembled car seats at Recycle Ann Arbor’s Drop-Off Station (DOS), 2950 E. Ellsworth Road, for a $3 entry fee. Check the DOS days and hours of operation at www.recycleannarbor.org.

Nicole (Lowen) Berg is the MRF education center and special projects coordinator at the City of Ann Arbor. Nicole can be reached at nlowen@a2gov.org. Visit http://www.a2gov.org for more information on local environmental topics including recycling, composting, water conservation and choices for green living.

Your World provides local environmental information to our community. Contributing partners include: Washtenaw County’s Environmental Health Division; the nonprofit Recycle Ann Arbor; the City of Ann Arbor’s Public Services Area, Natural Area Preservation, Systems Planning programs for Energy, Environmental Coordination, Solid Waste, Transportation, and Water Resources.