A car seat is arguably one of the most important pieces of baby equipment you’ll purchase and use daily, but what do you do with your car seat after it has expired or you no longer need it? How do you know if your car seat is expired or not? What do you do with an expired car seat? While you’ll want to check with the recommendations for your specific car seat, the average life span of a car seat is 6 years.  A website run by the Academy of American Pediatrics, healthychildren.org, is an excellent resource for all things related to pediatric health and safety. In this article they recommend never using a car seat if it is:

• Too old
• Visibly Damaged
• Missing Labels, Instructions, or Parts
• Has been in an accident
• Has been recalled
• Has an unknown history

Okay, so now that you know your beloved expired car seat’s days are done the most important thing is to stop using it and dispose of your car seat in a way that ensures no one attempts to reuse it. Of course, we at First Time Mom are about all about the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle, but when it comes to car seat safety trumps it all. Thankfully for our Minnesota readers, there is a great option for recycling your car seat. Between September 1 and 11, Minnesota residents can recycle used car seats! 56 Target stores across Minnesota are hosting a car seat collection program to help residents reduce household clutter without sending waste to landfills. All car seats collected through this program will be recycled through TerraCycle so that each component will see a second life.

Residents should bring their car seats to any Target store and look for Target’s car seat collection box in the front of the store or in the baby/kids floor pad section.

We have just a few months left with Pivot, sometimes known as the Joseph Gordon-Levitt channel, the “Friday Night Lights” channel, or “that channel with all of the sad commercials about abused dogs.” Participant Media, which launched Pivot in 2013, announced Aug. 17 that it would be closing up shop at the cable network later this year. Pivot was best known for its tent-pole program, “Hit Record on TV with Joseph Gordon-Levitt,” a variety show created by the actor and inspired by his upbeat collaborative production company. “While this conclusion was not an easy one,” Participant Media CEO David Linde said in a statement of Pivot’s demise, “it is ultimately in the best interest of all our stakeholders, and allows us to allocate more resources toward the production of compelling content across all platforms.” Putting an end to Pivot might be the best decision for investors, but to me, the end of the network is a great sadness. The network had its own reality show, but this was Pivot, so it was no “Real Housewives.” Its take on the genre was “Human Resources,” which followed the happenings at the recycling company TerraCycle in Trenton, N.J. Even when plotlines got dramatic, it was all about bettering the world. Deborah Jaramillo, associate professor of Film and Television Studies at Boston University, has some theories about why. She’s studied how cable networks evolve, and what it means to have a network identity. Her best example is AMC, which used to have one goal: airing classic cinema. AMC took its platform to another level when it launched its own similarly-themed original programs, such as “Remember WENN,” about a radio station in the 1930s and ’40s. But over time, AMC realized it couldn’t survive with such a restricted focus. It began showing newer movies and relying more on advertising, Jaramillo says. Over the years, it became what it is now — the network that made “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” and, more recently, “The Night Manager.” During the day, though, it airs random films like “The Mummy.” Jaramillo says Pivot may have been too specific with its mission, just like AMC was in its early years. Pivot needed its syndicated material to have “more mass appeal, while maintaining that socially conscious message.” Pivot probably also should have thought beyond millennials at launch, Jaramillo says, because many young people — including her students at Boston University — rely on streaming devices. (Even Jaramillo says she discovered the British thriller “Fortitude,” which airs in the United States on Pivot, through Amazon.) The perfect audience for Pivot, Jaramillo agreed, was actually me — an older-than-millennial who has time to binge-watch old favorites, is open-minded enough to consider new shows, and wants to feel better about watching so much TV. Come fall, when Pivot is expected to start to fade away, I’ll have to go back to feeling conflicted about my television consumption. I’ll have to go back to getting my “Buffy” on Netflix, without commentary, like everyone else.

HUMAN RESOURCES7:30 p.m. on Pivot. This kooky workplace reality series follows Tom Szaky, the founder and chief executive of TerraCycle, a recycling company in Trenton, and his army of thinkers and doers whose mission is to eliminate waste — all of it. In Season 3, they take on condoms and toiletries.

Between Sept. 1 and Sept. 11, Katy-area residents can recycle used car seats at the local Target store, located at 23710 Westheimer Parkway. Target stores across Texas are hosting a car seat collection program to help residents reduce household clutter without sending waste to landfills. All car seats collected through this program will be recycled through TerraCycle so that each component will see a second life. Residents should bring their car seats to the Target store in Katy and look for Target’s car seat collection box in the front of the store or in the baby/kids floor pad section. When a consumer turns in a used car seat, he or she will receive a coupon for 20 percent off the purchase of a new one. After the recycling program ends, TerraCycle will separate the different components of the car seats (cloth elements, plastics, metals, etc.) and process them for use in other products

“Human Resources” returns to Pivot TV Friday August 26 for its third season, and if you still wonder whether or not someone could make great TV out of life at a company whose business is green, wonder no more. The comedic docu-series is centered on the worldwide headquarters of TerraCycle, a company in Trenton, New Jersey that has lapped the field of recycling by being creative and motivated to end the need for landfills, as we know them. While it is a reality TV show, “Human Resources” is shot like a documentary, or in some ways like the great workplace sitcom, “The Office”. There is a lot of camera time for individual employees to comment on the project at hand and their TerraCycle colleagues, whether it’s about the pet policy in the office or one guy’s habit of eating his colleagues’ lunches, if they dare to step away from their desks. CEO Tom Szaky could play the part of Michael in “The Office”, but he doesn’t have to, because he is the anti-Michael, brilliant, articulate and constantly busy. While reviewing a season 2 episode we noted that Szaky has a vibe and style like NFL head coach Pete Carroll, someone who provides the guidance and a loose atmosphere for talented people to succeed, while challenging them to go further than they thought possible. There’s not too much structure at TerraCycle, and as a result the creativity is off the charts. The people are smart as whips, and many are a bit quirky, making for many an awkward moment. The department work together on projects that range from devising methods to recycle used tampons to creating schoolyard equipment from recycled material. If the show leaves you wondering why there aren’t more of those Zero Waste green boxes everywhere you go, it’s done its job. If you check out the season trailer posted below, you can get an idea of the work culture, but you have to watch the show to understand the passion of the staff and their love for a mission that is worthy and necessary. Season one is now available on YouTube and will continue to be available on iTunes, Amazon and Google Play. Pivot TV will air season 3 of “Human Resources” beginning Friday night August 26th at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT. Image/video credit: Pivot TV, used with permission

D'Addario is excited to announce that they will be the official string sponsor of this year's Lockn' Festival. As a part of this sponsorship, D'Addario has teamed up with Lockn' to request the artists and musicians to save all their used strings for the month leading up to the festival to bring and deposit them in one of the D'Addario Playback string recycling containers located throughout the backstage area. D'Addario artists participating in the festival as well as this initiative include Umphrey's McGee, MMJ, Moon Taxi, Gary Clark Jr, and more. As the world's largest maker of instrument strings and accessories, D'Addario has been a pioneer in sustainability for decades. From environmentally responsible packaging to a robust tree re-planting program, D'Addario is elevating our environmental commitment even higher in 2016. Introducing Playback, a safe and independent way to recycle and upcycle instrument strings. Currently, municipal recycling systems in the United States do not accept instrument strings because of the metals and alloys they are made from, leading to approximately 150 million pounds of strings in the landfill every year. However, with D'Addario's Playback program - in partnership with TerraCycle - you will now be able to recycle your used strings. Not only will Playback reward players for recycling D'Addario strings through our Players Circle program, but Playback also accepts all other string brands as part of this global program. Other events where D'Addario has partnered with this initiative, and had string recycling bins available, include this year's Bonnaroo, Telluride, and WXPN's XPoNential Music Festival. In additional to their environmental efforts at the festival, D'Addario will also be hosting the co-presented Relix/Lockn Friends & Family BBQ on Sunday night, August 28.

Woodlands residents can recycle used car seats between September 1 and 11 at area Target stores. Thirty-four Target stores across Texas are hosting a car seat collection program to help residents reduce household clutter without sending waste to landfills. All car seats collected through this program will be recycled through TerraCycle so that each component will see a second life. Residents should bring their car seats to the Target store and look for Target’s car seat collection box in the front of the store or in the baby/kids floor pad section. When a consumer turns in a used car seat, he or she will receive a coupon for 20% off the purchase of a new one. After the recycling program ends, TerraCycle will separate the different components of the car seats (cloth elements, plastics, metals, etc.) and process them for use in other products. The participating Target store #684 in The Woodlands is located at 1100 Lake Woodlands Drive, 77380.

Conroe residents can recycle used car seats between September 1 and 11 at area Target stores. Thirty-four Target stores across Texas are hosting a car seat collection program to help residents reduce household clutter without sending waste to landfills. All car seats collected through this program will be recycled through TerraCycle so that each component will see a second life. Residents should bring their car seats to the Target store and look for Target’s car seat collection box in the front of the store or in the baby/kids floor pad section. When a consumer turns in a used car seat, he or she will receive a coupon for 20% off the purchase of a new one. After the recycling program ends, TerraCycle will separate the different components of the car seats (cloth elements, plastics, metals, etc.) and process them for use in other products. The participating Conroe Target store #1115 is located at 503 I-45N in Conroe (77304).

Spring residents can recycle used car seats between September 1 and 11 at area Target stores. Thirty-four Target stores across Texas are hosting a car seat collection program to help residents reduce household clutter without sending waste to landfills. All car seats collected through this program will be recycled through TerraCycle so that each component will see a second life. Residents should bring their car seats to the Target store at 503 Interstate 45 North, and look for Target’s car seat collection box in the front of the store or in the baby/kids floor pad section. When a consumer turns in a used car seat, he or she will receive a coupon for 20% off the purchase of a new one. After the recycling program ends, TerraCycle will separate the different components of the car seats (cloth elements, plastics, metals, etc.) and process them for use in other products. The participating Spring Target store #1458 is locate at 19511 I-45N in Spring, TX (77388).

Great news for environmentalists and reality TV junkies alike: TerraCycle’s reality television show Human Resources premieres its third season Friday, August 26 on Pivot.

What is Human Resources?

Described as “The Office” meets “Project Runway,” Human Resources brings viewers behind the scenes and into the fast-moving environment of the TerraCycle office and the pandemonium that ensures. For those of you who are not familiar, TerraCycle is an international recycling company “Eliminating the Idea of Waste” through corporate sponsorship of various programs for recycling common household waste, the development of pre- and post-consumer waste technologies, blog posts, and much more. Committed to recycling the “unrecyclable,” TerraCycle works with companies putting forth the resources to find solutions for waste streams that fall outside the traditional recycling infrastructure. Can a reality show manage to make recycling fun? Recycling is one of the most commonly understood aspects of sustainability and environmentalism for consumers, but it doesn’t mean that it is the most entertaining of topics. Early on, we realized that an important balance had to be struck between TerraCycle’s message of sustainability and recycling processes, and an entertaining premise that viewers would come back to.

What Makes this Show Different?

Shot on location in Trenton, New Jersey, right off the bat, Human Resources takes place in a “trashy” office environment: the central conference room is made of clear plastic soda bottles, vinyl records built into desk dividers, desks made of doors, graffiti covers every wall, and a “carden” (an old convertible stacked on a mountain of old tired) is overrun with fresh mint in the building’s courtyard. Visually interesting, TerraCycle’s reality show exposes viewers to a somewhat exotic locale featuring unconventional décor and no shortage of color. It is the TerraCycle Design team’s job to look at objects like a Styrofoam cooler and a wool winter coat and think that the two seemingly unrelated objects can be upcycled into a totally new product with an entirely new function, like an ottoman, but viewers have the same freedom. Viewers can get ideas about different uses and perspectives for items commonly regarded as trash and use their imaginations to embark on their own upcycling journeys. If some people watch the Real Housewives for the clothes, some may watch Human Resources for the DIY inspiration.

Integration of Fun and Facts on Human Resources

We have achieved a balance between the fun and the factual by integrating TerraCycle projects, mission goals and events into each episode, and giving them a spin on our corporate culture by highlighting what really makes TerraCycle tick: its people. If the first step to enacting social change is raising awareness, this awareness is generated by holding the attention of the general public, and keeping it. Human Resources is entirely unscripted and features real employees of the growing sustainability startup, including Tom Szaky, the 34-year-old CEO and founder who dropped out of Princeton to pursue TerraCycle full-time. Past episodes have given viewers dynamic look at our Materials Sales team as they struggle to find a recycling solution for dirty diapers, chronicled the friendly intra-office competition that a boys vs. girls “recycle-a-thon” (with collegiate Greek-life recruits, no less) inspires, and followed our Design team down the rabbit hole of turning items bound for landfill into valuable, usable works of art. Filming three seasons of reality television has been a wild ride, but it’s been invaluable to our company’s message. While we can’t say for sure that Human Resources will galvanize greater support for mainstream environmental programming, it’s a good start nonetheless. The success of the show is proving that people are interested in reality TV that goes beyond the Jersey Shore club scene and D-list celebrity drama, and can see the fun in a young, mission-driven company from Trenton, NJ.

Get caught up and watch Human Resources Season One in its entirety for free online for a limited time on YouTube.