How to dispose of or recycle an expired car seat

You have three good options: trade the seat in at a Target event for a 20 percent off coupon, take it to a local car seat recycling program, or strip it and throw it away. Whichever you choose, first make the seat unusable, because seats pulled from curbs and donation bins do end up back in cars.

How does the Target car seat trade-in work?

Target runs the biggest US trade-in program, typically twice a year, in spring around April and again around September. The spring 2026 event ran April 19 to May 2. The mechanics are simple:

1. Bring any car seat to a participating Target store. Expired, damaged, outgrown and even crashed seats all qualify, as do bases and boosters.
2. Drop it in the collection box, usually near Guest Services.
3. Scan the QR code on the box with the Target app and the coupon lands in your Target Circle account.

What you get: a 20 percent off Target Circle offer, redeemable twice, in store or online, on a new car seat, stroller, travel system or select other baby gear, valid for about two weeks after the event ends. Target says the collected seats are recycled through its waste partners into materials for new products rather than landfilled. If your seat is expiring soon, it is worth timing the replacement purchase around these windows, and you can confirm the expiry first with the date checker.

Can I recycle a car seat locally?

Sometimes, and it takes a little homework because car seats are a recycling headache: mixed plastics, metal, foam and fabric bolted together. Options to check, in order:

• Your municipal recycling program. A few cities and counties accept car seats at drop-off centers, usually stripped to the bare shell. Search your city name plus car seat recycling.
• Dedicated mail-in or drop-off recyclers. Some regional programs and children's hospitals run collection days, often around Baby Safety Month in September.
• Retail programs other than Target. These come and go; Walmart ran one in 2019 but does not run one regularly, so do not count on it.

One persistent myth to clear up: fire stations and police departments do not take old car seats. They host installation checks through certified technicians, which is a different service. Showing up with an expired seat usually just means carrying it home again, so call ahead before hauling a seat anywhere that has not explicitly advertised collection.

Do not donate an expired seat to a thrift store, and do not list it for free online, even labeled honestly. Charities cannot legally resell expired restraints, and free listings are exactly how expired seats re-enter service. If a seat is genuinely still within its useful life and crash-free, passing it to someone you know is a different matter, covered in our used car seat checklist.

How do I make a seat unusable before trashing it?

If trade-in and recycling are not options, the trash is acceptable, but only after you kill the seat. Ten minutes of work:

1. Cut the harness straps off flush, including the crotch buckle strap.
2. Remove and dispose of the cover and padding separately.
3. Unthread or cut the LATCH connectors and tether.
4. Write EXPIRED, DO NOT USE in permanent marker across the shell.
5. Put the shell in a dark trash bag so it does not advertise itself curbside.

The straps are the point. A shell without a harness cannot be reinstalled, so cutting the webbing is the single step that matters most. The same procedure applies to seats retired after a crash, per our guide on what to do after an accident.

Which option should I pick?

One last nudge on timing: if the seat is not yet expired, do not retire it early just to catch a trade-in event. Check the actual date first using the label-reading guide. Expiration windows are generous, 6 to 10 years for most brands, and the best value is using the full certified life, then handing the seat to Target the season it ages out.