What is Electronic Waste?

Electronic waste, sometimes called "e-waste", includes all devices that require electricity to operate. If it plugs in, charges up, or takes batteries, it's considered e-waste when it breaks.

Click on a category below for specific information on where to recycle your electronic item(s).

• TVs, Computers and Related Items

  • TVs and monitors (CRT), LCD TVs and monitors, Plasma TVs, HDTVs
  • Desktops, Laptops
  • Keyboards and mice, CDs, DVDs and floppy disks

• Office Equipment

  • Printers, fax machines, scanners, copy machines, paper shredders

• Audio and Visual Equipment

  • CD players, stereo equipment, speakers, radios, turntables, amplifiers
  • DVD, Blu-Ray, and HDDVD players; DVRs; VCRs; video game systems
  • MP3 players, iPods, portable CD players
  • Cameras, camcorders

• Telephones and Cell Phones

  • Corded and cordless phones
  • PDAs, cell phones and smart phones

• Small Appliances

  • Microwave ovens, toaster ovens, toasters, mixers
  • Hair dryers, vacuum cleaners

• Large Appliances

  • Washing and drying machines, dishwashers, refrigerators

These devices often contain valuable and rare metals, as well as chemicals that can be harmful to you and the environment. Electronics should never be thrown in the trash or burned. Lucky for you, this section is full of information about the right way to dispose of these items.

While you can't recycle electronics in your curbside blue bin, many local facilities accept e-waste for recycling (and most of them are free!). Locate your item in the categories above to find out where to recycle it.

If you're looking for ways to recycle e-waste at work, please view our Business Electronic Waste page.

If you want to print out a summary of the information in this section, check out our Electronics Recycling Brochure, Electronics Recycling Flier or Electronics Recycling Flier en Espanol.

If it still works, donate it!

Used and unwanted electronics are one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world. If you still have functioning electronics, there are many ways to reuse them. Take a look at our Reuse Electronics page, Reuse Computers page and Reduce Electronic Waste Tips page for more information.

If it's broken, fix it!

If your computer or other gizmo breaks, chances are someone can fix it. Check out our Computer Repair page for more information.

Complete List of Pages in Electronics Section

Every page in this section is listed below. Either look through it to find what you're looking for or use the search bar above. Disposal locations are displayed on the pages listed below.