Walmart, TerraCycle to host large car seat recycling event

Walmart, Bentonville, Arkansas, and TerraCycle, Trenton, New Jersey, have partnered to launch a large car seat recycling event at about 4,000 Walmart stores across the U.S.

According to a news release from Walmart, the first-ever Walmart Car Seat Recycling Event will take place Sept. 16-30 in celebration of National Baby Safety Month. Customers will be able to trade in used car seats at the participating stores’ service desks and receive a $30 Walmart gift card that can be used in store or online to buy items for their baby. 

All car seats collected in the program will be recycled through TerraCycle in order to divert them from landfills, Walmart reports in a news release. 

“Safety—especially car seat safety—is a top priority for Walmart’s Baby department, so we wanted to use our size and scale to create an event that offered unprecedented access to trade in an outgrown car seat for a gift card,” says Melody Richards, vice president of Walmart Baby. “Sustainability is of equal importance to Walmart, so we’re happy to work with TerraCycle who will recycle every component of the car seats.”

“Through the Walmart Car Seat Recycling program, traditionally nonrecyclable car seats are now nationally recyclable,” adds Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle. “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. Through this event, we expect to divert the plastic equivalent of approximately 35 million water bottles from landfills.”

More information about this event and others at Walmart can be found online.