“Make into something better:” Meijer baby gear recycling drive starting in Mahoning Valley
It’s the first year Meijer superstores in Mahoning Valley and across the country are hosting an in-store recycling drive focused on baby gear and large equipment to help cut down on plastic waste.
Starting this Sunday through Nov. 9, customers can drop off unneeded, expired or damaged gear, such as car seats and strollers.
Matt Campbell is the head buyer for all baby items and gear at Meijer based in Michigan; he also has three daughters.
“My youngest is 11, though, so I’m not in the baby stage anymore, and because of that, I ask a lot of questions, and a lot of the new moms I work with about what’s working, what they’re excited about, what changing, what their difficulties are, and just try to help,” Campbell said.
Campbell said the recycling drive helps new parents declutter their space and keep kids in safe equipment.
“Car seats actually expire after a certain amount of time, so you can’t use the same one for years, and you actually aren’t supposed to resell them on a second-hand market, just because there might be, might have been a recall, or it might be older, and plastic can get brittle over time,” he said.
The Meijer recycling drive keeps these large pieces of equipment from being sent to landfills.
Instead, they’ll be sent back to a recycling facility to get broken down to their component parts and recycled.
“The car seat you have might be out of date, or maybe you just don’t need it anymore, because your children are growing up,” said Campbel. “[Car seats and strollers] are big, they’re bulky, and we all feel bad about the amount of trash we make. They’re important, they’re well manufactured. But because of that, they’ve got a lot of different components. This is a way to get it out of the system and make it into something better.”
Participating customers will get a redeemable code via mPerks, which includes 25% discount on something new, like a car seat, booster car seat, stroller, travel system, bassinet or play yard.
To participate in this event, customers can bring eligible items to a designated area at their local Meijer supercenter, near the customer service desk located at the front of each store.
Participating customers will receive a redeemable offer code they can use in their mPerks account to receive 25 percent off any baby gear.
This coupon can be used two times during the redemption period from Oct. 27 through Nov. 23.
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