E-Waste Recycling in Denver, CO — Where to Recycle Electronics (2026 Guide)

Colorado has some of the stricter e-waste regulations in the country. Here is what matters for Denver residents.

The Colorado Electronic Recycling Jobs Act, originally passed in 2013, bans covered electronic devices from landfills statewide. Covered devices include televisions, computer monitors, laptops, desktop computers, and tablets. If it has a screen larger than four inches measured diagonally, it is covered under the law. Violations are enforced at the disposal facility level — waste haulers and landfills can reject loads containing banned electronics, and they frequently do.

Beyond the state ban, Denver County has its own solid waste rules. Denver's trash collection, operated by the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI), will not pick up electronics in your regular trash or recycling bin. Large electronics left at the curb on trash day will be tagged and left behind. Repeat violations can result in code enforcement action.

Federal regulations also apply to specific components. Cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors and TVs are classified as hazardous waste under EPA rules due to lead content — a single CRT monitor can contain 4 to 8 pounds of lead. Lithium-ion batteries, found in laptops, tablets, and phones, are regulated as hazardous materials during transport and must be handled by certified recyclers.

The practical takeaway: you cannot throw electronics in the trash in Denver. You need a recycling facility, a city drop-off event, or a pickup service.

Denver and the surrounding metro area have several dedicated e-waste recycling facilities. Here are the major options with addresses, hours, fees, and what they accept.

Blue Star Recyclers is a Colorado-based nonprofit social enterprise that provides jobs to people with autism and other developmental disabilities. They are one of the most respected e-waste recyclers in the state and accept virtually all consumer electronics.

Location: 4880 Havana St, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80239 Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM; Saturday 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Fee: Free for most items. CRT TVs and monitors have a $0.25 per pound fee (a typical 27-inch CRT costs about $15 to $20). Flat-screen TVs and monitors are free. Accepts: Computers, laptops, tablets, phones, printers, cables, small appliances, TVs (flat-screen free, CRT for a fee), audio/video equipment, gaming consoles, networking equipment. Does not accept: Large appliances (refrigerators, washers), smoke detectors, or items containing Freon.

Blue Star is the go-to option for most Denver residents who want a free, responsible drop-off. The Havana Street location is easy to access from I-70 and has a covered drive-through drop-off area.

The City of Denver operates Sustainability Park, a drop-off facility for hard-to-recycle materials including electronics.

Location: 7150 E Magnolia St, Denver, CO (also known as Cherry Creek Transfer Station area) Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 7:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Fee: Free for Denver residents with proof of residency (utility bill or ID with Denver address). Non-residents pay scaled fees. Accepts: Computers, monitors, TVs, printers, phones, cables, small electronics, batteries (sorted by type), and fluorescent light bulbs. Does not accept: Large appliances, hazardous chemicals, or commercial quantities.

Sustainability Park is a city-run facility, which means it is reliable and well-maintained but can have long lines on weekends, especially Saturday mornings. Plan for a 15 to 30 minute wait during peak times. The facility requires you to sort your items into designated areas, which adds time if you have a mixed load.

ARC Thrift Stores, a major Colorado nonprofit, accepts working and non-working electronics at their donation centers throughout the Denver metro. Working items are resold in-store; non-working electronics are sent to certified recycling partners.

Locations: Multiple across Denver metro — major locations at 1445 S Broadway, Denver; 2060 S Havana St, Aurora; 7025 E Hampden Ave, Denver. Hours: Vary by location. Most open 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM daily; donation drop-off typically closes 30 minutes before the store. Fee: Free. All donations are tax-deductible. Accepts: Computers, monitors, TVs (flat-screen only at most locations), phones, tablets, gaming consoles, small appliances, audio equipment. Does not accept: CRT TVs (most locations), broken glass screens, or items with visible damage to batteries.

ARC is convenient because of the number of locations, but their electronics acceptance varies by store. Call ahead to confirm your specific items, especially CRT monitors and older TVs.

Best Buy operates a nationwide electronics recycling program available at all Denver-area stores. You can drop off most consumer electronics at the customer service desk during regular store hours.

Locations: Multiple Denver metro locations including Colorado Blvd, Federal Blvd (Northfield), and Cherry Creek area. Hours: Regular store hours, typically 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Fee: Free for most items. TVs and monitors over 32 inches have a $29.99 recycling fee. Limit of 3 items per household per day. Accepts: Phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, cables, chargers, ink cartridges, small appliances, printers, TVs (with size-based fee), batteries (rechargeable only). Does not accept: Large appliances, CRT TVs over 32 inches, air conditioners, or items containing Freon.

Best Buy is the most accessible option for small items — phones, cables, chargers, and laptops. For larger loads or TVs, the per-item fee and the 3-item limit make it less practical.

Denver and surrounding communities host periodic e-waste collection events, often free to residents. These are typically organized by the City of Denver, Arapahoe County, or nonprofit partners.

The City of Denver holds community drop-off events several times per year, usually at recreation centers or park-and-ride lots. These events are announced through Denver Recycles (denvergov.org) and typically accept a wide range of electronics for free, including CRT TVs. Events fill up fast — plan to arrive early.

Arapahoe County runs its own Household Hazardous Waste facility at 5765 S Windermere St, Littleton, which accepts electronics from Arapahoe County residents year-round. Jefferson County holds periodic collection events at the Rooney Road Recycling Center.

The downside of collection events: they happen a few times per year, lines can run 45 minutes to two hours, and they often cap the number of vehicles. If your timing does not line up with the next event, you are stuck waiting or finding another option.

Let us be honest about what recycling electronics yourself actually looks like in Denver.

First, you need to figure out what you have. Different facilities accept different items with different fees. A load that includes a CRT TV, a laptop, a printer, and a box of cables might need to go to two different facilities because not every location takes CRTs. You will spend 20 to 40 minutes online figuring out which facility takes what.

Second, you need to get there. Blue Star Recyclers on Havana Street is a 20- to 35-minute drive from most Denver neighborhoods. Sustainability Park near Cherry Creek is more central but only open Wednesday through Sunday. Best Buy has the most locations but limits you to 3 items and charges for larger TVs.

Third, you need a vehicle that fits your items. A 55-inch flat-screen TV does not fit in the back seat of a sedan. A garage cleanout with multiple monitors, a desktop tower, and boxes of cables requires an SUV or truck. If you do not have one, you are renting, borrowing, or making multiple trips.

Fourth, you wait. Sustainability Park lines run 15 to 30 minutes on weekends. Blue Star is faster but has limited Saturday hours. Collection events can hit two-hour waits.

Adding it all up, a typical DIY e-waste recycling run costs 2 to 4 hours of your time, gas, and possibly a vehicle rental — plus the physical effort of loading and unloading heavy, awkward electronics. For a single phone or laptop, dropping it at Best Buy on your next shopping trip makes sense. For anything bigger, the math changes.

Dropcurb picks up electronics from your curb starting at $79. Here is how it works for e-waste.

You book online, select the items you need removed, and get a locked price before you pay. No estimates, no on-site quotes, no surprises. Place your electronics at the curb — monitors, TVs, towers, printers, boxes of cables, whatever you have — and a hauler picks them up the same day.

All electronics collected by Dropcurb are taken to certified e-waste recycling facilities. Nothing goes to the landfill. CRT monitors and TVs, lithium-ion batteries, and other regulated components are handled according to Colorado and federal regulations.

What Dropcurb picks up:

- TVs (flat-screen and CRT, any size) - Computer monitors - Desktop computers and towers - Laptops and tablets - Printers, scanners, copiers - Networking equipment (routers, modems, switches) - Cables, chargers, and accessories - Gaming consoles - Audio and video equipment - Small kitchen and household electronics

The starting price of $79 covers a single standard item. Additional items are $19 to $59 each depending on size and weight. A typical garage cleanout with 4 to 6 electronic items runs $120 to $200 — compared to 3 to 4 hours of your time doing it yourself.

For Denver residents who want their e-waste recycled responsibly without spending half a Saturday driving to a recycling facility, Dropcurb is the simplest option. Book at dropcurb.com.

Before recycling any device that stores personal data — computers, phones, tablets, external hard drives — take steps to protect your information.

For phones and tablets: perform a factory reset. On iPhone, go to Settings, then General, then Transfer or Reset iPhone, then Erase All Content and Settings. On Android, go to Settings, then System, then Reset, then Factory Data Reset. Remove SIM cards and SD cards before recycling.

For computers: back up your files, then wipe the drive. On Windows, use Settings, System, Recovery, Reset This PC, Remove Everything. On Mac, restart in Recovery Mode (Command-R) and use Disk Utility to erase the drive before reinstalling macOS. For maximum security, use a dedicated drive-wiping tool like DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) which overwrites the drive multiple times.

For external hard drives and USB drives: use full-format (not quick format) or a dedicated wipe tool. Simply deleting files does not remove the data — it just removes the pointer to the data.

If a device will not turn on and you cannot wipe it, physically remove the hard drive or SSD before recycling. A laptop hard drive takes 5 to 10 minutes to remove with a basic screwdriver. You can then drill through the drive platters or take it to a data destruction service. Blue Star Recyclers offers data destruction services at their Denver location for an additional fee.

Here is a quick reference for the most common electronics Denver residents need to get rid of.

CRT TVs and monitors: These are the hardest items to recycle because of the lead content. Blue Star Recyclers accepts them for $0.25 per pound. Sustainability Park accepts them for free from Denver residents. Most other facilities either refuse CRTs or charge significant fees. Do not put CRTs in your trash — they are classified as hazardous waste.

Flat-screen TVs: Widely accepted at most facilities for free. Blue Star, Sustainability Park, and ARC all take them at no charge. Best Buy charges $29.99 for screens over 32 inches. Dropcurb picks them up starting at $79 with no size restrictions.

Laptops and desktops: Accepted everywhere for free. Wipe your data first. If the device still works, consider donating to a nonprofit like Blue Star or ARC where it will be refurbished and resold.

Printers and scanners: Accepted at Blue Star and Sustainability Park for free. Remove ink and toner cartridges first — these can be recycled separately at Staples or Office Depot for a small store credit.

Batteries: Do not put batteries in your regular recycling bin — lithium-ion batteries cause fires in recycling trucks. Sustainability Park accepts sorted batteries for free. Best Buy accepts rechargeable batteries. Single-use alkaline batteries can go in Denver trash, but rechargeable batteries (lithium-ion, NiCd, NiMH) must be recycled.

Cables and chargers: Accepted at Best Buy and Blue Star for free. These items are small enough to drop off on a regular errand run.