The unused car seat that’s sitting in your garage is worth $30 in Walmart merchandise.

Nearly 4,000 U.S. Walmart stores are now handing out $30 gift cards in exchange for old car seats. The trade is being sponsored by TerraCycle, a waste management company that specializes in “difficult to recycle” items — a category that includes car seats. According to TerraCycle Tom Skazy, the drive is expected to eliminate the “plastic equivalent of approximately 35 million water bottles from landfills.”

From CNN.com:

“Through the Walmart Car Seat Recycling Program, traditionally non-recyclable car seats are now nationally recyclable,” said Szaky. “We are proud to work with this forward-thinking company to offer families from coast-to-coast a way to give their car seat, the item that has kept their little ones safe, a second life.”

Radio Bloomington employee Katie Crow successfully turned in a seat on Monday and received her gift card on the spot..
On Facebook she wrote: “You can trade in up to 2 car seats per HOUSEHOLD. And they have to be harnessed seats, no boosters!”

The program, which coincides with National Baby Safety Month, runs through September 30th.

Susan Saunders 9/17/19