Is your car seat damaged or expired?
If your car seat is damaged, has been in an accident, or is past its expiration date, discard it even if you don't see anything visibly wrong with it.
How do you recycle your seat?
How do you prepare your seat for trash collection?
- Remove all straps and padding.
- Use a permanent marker to label the seat with "Trash - Do not re-use".
- If possible, place the straps and padding into one trash can or bag, and the seat into another. This is to help prevent someone from taking your seat for reuse.
- If you have Montgomery County-provided trash collection service, request a bulk trash collection for your seat.
How can you tell the seat's age? Why does the age matter?
The car seat's manufacture date is either on a sticker or is directly stamped into the plastic on the back or bottom of the seat. Specific manufacturer recommendations on expiration vary, advising disposal between five and nine years after the manufacture date.
See more details on car seat age and expiration
Where can you take a usable car seat?
To see if your seat can be used by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service's car seat program, please contact 240-777-2223. (Generally, if you are the original owner and the seat has never been in a crash, infant seats are helpful for needy families. Other seats can also sometimes be used for training purposes.)
We prefer that people simply "regift" to a friend or neighbor directly, and not through thrift shops or other places.
When passing along a car seat, be sure to:
Do you have additional car seat questions?
For questions about car seats and booster seats, contact Montgomery County's Child Passenger Safety Program Hotline at 240-777-2223.
See Car Seat Inspection Station locations and schedules
