by: Munashe Kwangwari III Posted: Jun 25, 2020 / 05:18 PM CDT / Updated: Jun 25, 2020 / 05:18 PM CDT   BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — Bloomington city leaders say they plan to take the owner of Bell International to court for the “mountain of car seats” piled up on their property. City officials say the pile is causing code violations, and has led to a disturbing odor in the area.   Initially the seats were placed there for a nationwide recycling promotion put on by Walmart and TerraCycle. The two companies collected more than 40-thousand seats before bell international shutdown due to COVID-19.   It reopened on June 1st and city leaders say there’s been no attempt to get rid of the car seats. So they are taking the owner to court next Wednesday. if the judge rules the property is a public nuisance, the owner has two weeks to clear the area.

If you’re looking for somewhere to ditch an old car seat, Walmart has a deal for you.   The retail giant announced that from Monday to Sept. 30 it will offer customers a $30 gift card if they trade in an old seat. The promotion is good at nearly 4,000 U.S. stores.   If you’re interested in cashing in, contact Walmart Customer Service. There is a limit of two gift cards per household and booster-seat recycling is not included in this event.   “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,” Walmart Baby Vice President Melody Richards said in a statement.   She added that sustainability is of “equal importance. So we’re happy to work with TerraCycle who will recycle every component of the car seats.”   The promotion comes as part of National Baby Safety Month and is held in conjunction with TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based recycling business that works with manufacturers to reprocess difficult products that would normally be thrown away.    

Parents with car seats their kids have outgrown, listen up: Walmart is offering a sweet deal — that also helps the environment.   Beginning Monday and running through Sept. 30, the retail giant is running a program where shoppers can bring their old car seats to a store’s Customer Service department in exchange for a $30 gift card that can be used online or in-store, Walmart shares in a release.   The company’s inaugural Car Seat Recycling Event, in honor of National Baby Safety Month, is being held in conjunction with TerraCycle, “and each component will be diverted from the landfill,” the release states.   Vice President of Walmart Baby, Melody Richards, says in the release that 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 — perfect for using on your baby’s next car seat.”  

(CNN) Walmart is partnering with TerraCycle -- a global waste management company that works with consumer product companies, retailers, cities and facilities to recycle "difficult-to-recycle" products and packaging -- to offer the nation's largest car seat recycling event, with nearly 4,000 Walmarts participating across the country.   People who participate in the program will receive a $30 gift card to Walmart for trading in their old car seats. The program began Monday and runs through September 30 in celebration of National Baby Safety Month.   TerraCycle founder and CEO Tom Skazy expects to "divert the plastic equivalent of approximately 35 million water bottles from landfills."   "Through the Walmart Car Seat Recycling Program, traditionally non-recyclable car seats are now nationally recyclable," said Szaky. "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."   Using a material disassembly model for car seat recycling, TerraCycle will work with subcontractors around the country to take the car seats apart and separate them by their components. Once disassembled, the company will use each component to be processed further into a usable raw material in order to manufacture new products.   All of the work will be done in the US, and none of the car seat materials will make it into a landfill or be incinerated, said Brett Stevens, TerraCycle's global vice president of material sales and procurement.   "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 -- perfect for using on your baby's next car seat," said Walmart Baby Vice President Melody Richards. "Sustainability is of equal importance to Walmart, so we're happy to work with TerraCycle who will recycle every component of the car seats."   While this is not the first time that TerraCycle has worked with Walmart, this is the first time that the two companies have teamed up to offer Walmart's first national take-back program for car seats.   "TerraCycle's mission is to eliminate the idea of waste by collecting and recycling traditionally non-recyclable materials," Stevens told CNN. "Anytime we can team up with a retailer or consumer goods company to drive awareness around the fact that these everyday items can see another life, we are happy to be involved."  

Need to clean out your garage and get a little extra spending money? Walmart is hosting a child car seat recycling event this week that will pay $30 for seats your child has outgrown.   Nearly 4,000 Walmart locations are taking park in the event, which runs through Sept. 30. Customers can take their used car seats to the service desk and receive a $30 Walmart gift card that can be used to buy items for their child.   Parents can swap up to two seats per household and booster seats are not eligible for trade-in.   The event is being done as part of the company's observation of National Baby Safety Month. Walmart is working with TerraCycle to recycle the car seats and keep them out of landfills.   “Through the Walmart Car Seat Recycling Program, traditionally non-recyclable car seats are now nationally recyclable,” said Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle in a statement. “Through this event, we expect to divert the plastic equivalent of approximately 35 million water bottles from landfills.”   Competitor Target recently completed a car seat trade in event. Life to date, that retailer says it has recycled 11.9 million pounds of old car seats.   The program comes as Walmart looks for ways to keep its competitive edge against Amazon and other large retailers. The company is also more susceptible to the China tariffs than some other retailers, because so many of its products are made in that country.

Walmart is doubling down on car seat safety for National Baby Safety Month with a first-of-its-kind recycling event. The longtime top retailer kicked off a car seat trade-in event Monday that will span nearly 4,000 Walmart stores in the U.S. until Sept. 30, according to Walmart. Customers can take used car seats to the service desk at participating stores and trade it in for a $30 Walmart gift card that can then be put towards other baby items and used online or in stores. Walmart joined forces with private recycling company, TerraCycle, for the sustainability initiative and said each component of "traditionally non-recyclable car seats" will be diverted from the landfill.   "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," Melody Richards, vice president of Walmart Baby, said in a statement.   TerraCycle CEO and founder, Tom Szaky, added, "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."   For more about the gift card terms and conditions visit the company's website.