Where can I recycle an old TV?

No one wants an analog TV anymore after the digital switch -- here's what to do when it's time to get rid of yours.

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Fri, May 30 2008 at 3:23 PM

Related Topics:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Green Electronics

Q. Where can I recycle an old TV set? I can take smaller electronic appliances to my local Office Depot, bless them ... but they don't handle anything as big as a TV. This is going to be a big problem with the approaching mandatory switch to all-digital TV. No one wants to buy an old-style (non-digital) TV, gently used, and there are going to be lots of them. Suggestions? — B. Bodenstein, Baltimore, MD

A. You and your fellow Charm Cityites are lucky — Baltimore's Department of Public Works Web site lists dropoff sites for electronic recyclables, including TVs.

And not everyone has it quite so easy. Some city governments charge you a fee to have them recycle your electronic appliances. Curbside electronics recycling in Loveland, Colo., for example, costs between $10 and $15 per item. And some cities and counties have even stopped accepting electronic appliances at municipal recycling centers altogether! So check city and county web sites for updates — some also offer suggestions for alternative disposal options. Washington State's King County, for example, recommends the Take It Back Network, a coalition of government agencies, retailers, repair shops, charitable organizations and recyclers that take TVs and other electronics.

Lastly, some major retailers and manufacturers, including Sony, have begun implementing TV take-back programs as well. Check out TakebackmyTV.com for TV-disposal options in any region of the U.S., as well as for e-waste news updates.

Story by Anneli Rufus and Kristan Lawson. This article originally appeared in Plenty in May 2008. The story was added to MNN.com in January 2010.