Dump second hand car seats, say North Yorkshire RSOs

North Yorkshire County Council joined forces with waste management company Yorwaste in mid-June to highlight the dangers of using second-hand child car seats. The authority is trying to get the message across to parents that under no circumstances should they buy child seats that have already been used - because older seats may not meet European safety standards and may have vital pieces missing.

North Yorkshire County Council says the best thing to do with a used child seat is to dispose of it at a household waste site operated across the county by Yorwaste. Any child seat that comes to a Yorwaste site is disposed of correctly and not resold or reused.

"The problem with a used child car seat is that the purchaser may not know its history or have fitting instructions," said Peter Sowray, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for environmental services. "Also, seats bought five years ago will not meet safety standards and the only way to ensure you do not put your child at risk is to buy a new seat."

Tony Sharkey, Yorwaste’s waste strategy and contracts manager, said: "We are delighted to be working alongside North Yorkshire to encourage people to dispose of old or used child seats at our sites."

In another initiative, as part of Child Accident Prevention Week, North Yorkshire County Council is running a series of child car seat safety checks at a number of supermarket venues in late June

Picture caption: A group of school children watch as a large compacting machine crushes dozens of used car seats at the Yorwaste Scorton Landfill Site, Catterick Bridge.