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Used-Drop Side Crib Sales Banned: Are Landfills the Only Option?

Posted by joy

29 Jun

As of yesterday, all new and used drop-side crib sales in the United States are banned. Crib manufacturers have already adapted, but what happens to every drop-side crib currently in use? Are they all destined for disposal?

The government ban states that no crib manufactured before July 23, 2010 can be sold or even donated. It extends to cribs sold at yard sales, resale shops, and on craigslist.

Honestly, it makes me feel ill. I know that more than 30 babies died in the past dozen years from drop side cribs, and obviously better standards needed to be enforced. Still, why can’t people use a crib immobilizer kit that will make any drop-side crib into a safe, stationary sleeping space for baby? People can buy it for ten dollars and install it in under an hour.

My solid maple Child Craft crib, with plenty of life left in it, will have to be dismantled and recycled, even though there are several families and charities in desperate need of a sturdy crib. The amount of waste that will be generated by this one act boggles my mind! Does anyone else have ideas about what to do with their used drop-side crib?

Filed under: Baby Care, Baby Gear, Family Life, In the News, Living Simply, The Green Household

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14 Responses for "Used-Drop Side Crib Sales Banned: Are Landfills the Only Option?"

Emily June 29th, 2011 at 10:51 am 1
I get the ban, I guess, although (and this might make me sound like a heartless person) 30 babies in 12 years doesn’t seem like enough to make it really an issue- if everything was banned that could hurt/kill someone we’d all just be sitting in empty padded (bpa free!) rooms 24/7. I sort of think this is a decision a parent should make on their own- new stationary crib (I can’t even imagine trying to change the sheet on a crib mattress with a side that doesn’t drop!) or a crib immobilizer kit. Our son slept in the crib I slept in as a baby- a dropsided crib (although it has this sort of rail system so that the side can’t actually come lose), and our next kid will too, before we pass it along to my brother for his future babies…
Julie June 29th, 2011 at 11:27 am 2
My parents got a drop down crib, and then disassembled it to be two rather nice baby gates. (Bungie cords helpo hold it in place, and cut tennis balls protect the walls).
Larisa June 29th, 2011 at 12:25 pm 3
I sold mine a few years ago before the ban, but if I still had it around I would find a way to use the dismantled pieces in the garden–the railed sides might be good for climbing plants like peas, and the base could be turned upside down and turned into a garden bed with the addition of a bit of wood, maybe?
Katherine June 29th, 2011 at 1:05 pm 4
Can you take off the drop-side and use it as a toddler bed?
Sarah K June 29th, 2011 at 1:11 pm 5
I just saw in our local consignment shop that they are selling them as “toddler beds”, not to be used with infants. I guess that is one way around the problem.

I am really glad to see tougher safety standards in place, but it does create the problem of waste. I’ve seen some pretty cool used of crib pieces for storage (turn upside down, lean against a wall and use to hang magazines).

Does the ban on selling used cribs apply only to drop-side cribs, or all cribs manufactured before July 2010? We actually bought my son’s crib that month and plan to use it as a toddler bed, so I won’t need to get rid of it for a few more years.
Rita June 30th, 2011 at 1:06 am 6
Emily, I completely agree with your statement that the ban is excessive. I think it would have been better to just phase them out. Don’t manufacture new ones, but the cribs that have already been made can still be sold – with warnings of caution and, perhaps, with a required purchase of the immobilizer kit. Yes, that is a lot of waste.
Jenny June 30th, 2011 at 4:31 am 7
I have a beautiful almost new crib. It was expensive, and now what to do with it? There are NO flaws to it. What a waste, so much for being “green” USA….I have a feeling that some companies will enjoy the sales from people replacing these…I just feel sorry for the people who can’t afford a crib. Yet my beautiful crib will sit in a dump somewhere….
Heather June 30th, 2011 at 10:02 am 8
to the person who said they didn’t know how they would change the crib sheets —- just pull out the whole mattress, change it and then drop it back in…
Heather June 30th, 2011 at 10:03 am 9
Oh and 30 babies doesn’t sound like a lot unless it was YOUR baby…
Angela July 3rd, 2011 at 8:51 pm 10
I liked Larisa’s idea and had been thinking along the same lines… I thought maybe I could shorten the legs and re-structure it to be a raised garden bed. It is old fashioned looking so it might look nice with pea’s climbing up the side or some other vine. What a waste though… I hate to think of the crib that my babies slept in being left out in the rain to rot. Better than the dump perhaps.
Rachel July 14th, 2011 at 10:19 am 11
You can give them away to a friend… but not for sale… I got a drop side for my new baby and I am going to get the kit to keep it safe and also screw it in the places it needs it (my husband is a handy carpenter but its an easy fix)… I got mine on a freebies list on a local classifieds.. So… If I were you I’d be thinking about looking for a mom in need personally and not necessarily through a specific site…
Laura July 22nd, 2011 at 11:56 am 12
Hello Rebecca and Joy-Thank you so much for your book. You really helped me take the leap into cloth diapering about 5 mos ago. I have a crib that I have been trying to figure out how to get rid of. I hate it just going into the waste stream. I did call our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore and they said they could take the full-size headboard piece but not the other pieces. Since you guys are in Portland, could you contact the Rebuilding Center? They make such beautiful items out of salvaged wood. Maybe you could issue a design challenge. I could totally forsee beautiful end tables or other pieces being built with these crib parts. Perhaps someone with welding skills could make something out of the spring bottom piece? http://rebuildingcenter.org/ I also saw something in Parents magazine about using the side rails as a quilt/blanket holder. I think they had it attached to the wall.
I am making the Restore wait for the headboard. It is currently being used to keep books from being pulled off the shelves by my 9 mos old.
John November 15th, 2011 at 10:46 pm 13
Our little girl just moved to a toddler bed and I was in the middle of listing our awesome all-maple crib on Craigslist when I found out about this ban. As an engineer, I simply can’t even imagine how the drop-side feature could injure a child. In fact, I would guess that future parents will simply keep the mattresses up much higher than they should be and the resulting injuries from babies climbing out will far outpace any injuries from the drop-side cribs. What a shame. The fact that this wasn’t phased out and the ban includes donating cribs has regulation corruption all over it. This was a stimulus to the crib industry plain and simple.
Susan November 19th, 2011 at 5:46 pm 14
I absolutely agree with John. I just had the same experience — went to craigslist to post a Maple crib (a really nice one that we drove 2 hrs. to Canada to buy), was stopped in my tracks. I had the same thought regarding the ban of the sale of used ones. There must have been some lobbying by the manufacturers, retailers, or both. I’m trying to think of someone in need who would appreciate this lovely and really quite safe hand-me-down. I did notice on our local craigslist several “banned” cribs for sale, though.