How to Get Rid of an Old TV: 7 Options Ranked [2026]

TVs contain lead, mercury, and other hazardous materials that make them illegal to trash in 25 states. Massachusetts banned CRT TVs from landfills in 2000, and states including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and Washington have since followed with their own e-waste disposal laws.

That means you can't just set your old TV at the curb on trash day in most areas. Here are seven legitimate disposal methods ranked by cost and ease.

Municipal e-waste collection events are the cheapest way to dispose of any TV. Most counties run these quarterly or annually at community centers, fire stations, or fairgrounds. Search your city or county name plus "e-waste collection event" to find the next one.

Best Buy accepts flat-panel TVs (LCD, LED, plasma) under 49 inches and tube TVs under 31 inches at any store for a $29.99 per-item recycling fee. In Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan, Best Buy charges the same $29.99 but hands you a $30 Best Buy gift card — making it effectively free. California residents pay no fee at all because the state's Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Fee (charged at purchase) funds disposal.

Local e-waste recyclers like High Tech Recycling and MRC Electronics charge $10 to $30 for LCD/LED/plasma drop-off. CRT televisions cost more — expect $30 to $50+ because the cathode-ray tube contains 4 to 8 pounds of lead that requires specialized processing. Only about two CRT recyclers remain in the United States, which drives up costs.

If your TV still powers on and displays a picture, donation or resale keeps it out of the waste stream entirely.

Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity ReStore accept working flat-screen TVs. Most locations require a minimum screen size of 19 inches and will not accept CRT models. Call your local store before driving — policies vary by location.

Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are the fastest way to offload a working TV for free or cheap. Smart TVs under 5 years old sell quickly. List it with clear photos, mention the brand and screen size, and price it to move. Listing as "free, you pick up" gets rid of it within 24 hours in most metro areas.

Buy Nothing groups on Facebook specialize in free local exchanges. Post your TV and someone from the neighborhood will claim it — usually within a day.

When your TV is too heavy to move, broken, or you just want it gone without driving anywhere, pickup services handle everything.

CRT (tube) televisions are harder and more expensive to dispose of than flat-screen models. A typical 32-inch CRT TV weighs 100 to 150 pounds and contains 4 to 8 pounds of lead in the glass. The EPA classifies CRT glass as hazardous waste when broken.

Only about two certified CRT recyclers remain in the US according to Summit E-Waste and Cohen Recycling. Processing involves manually separating the leaded funnel glass from the panel glass — a labor-intensive process that costs recyclers $0.20 to $0.35 per pound. That cost gets passed to consumers through higher drop-off fees.

Flat-screen TVs (LCD, LED, plasma) weigh far less and contain recoverable materials like copper, aluminum, and circuit board metals. Most e-waste recyclers accept them at lower fees or even free during collection events.

Projection TVs fall somewhere in between. High Tech Recycling charges $25 for projection TV drop-off compared to $10 for flat panels.

In 25 states, no. E-waste landfill bans prohibit disposing of televisions in regular garbage. States with active bans include California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Even in states without explicit bans, most municipal waste haulers refuse to pick up electronics curbside on regular trash day. TVs left at the curb may sit there indefinitely or result in a fine from your city or HOA.

The hazardous materials in TVs — lead in CRT glass, mercury in LCD backlights, flame retardants in plastics — are the reason for disposal restrictions. Proper recycling recovers these materials safely instead of leaching them into groundwater.

Check your city's website for the next free e-waste collection event. These happen quarterly in most metro areas and accept any TV regardless of type, size, or condition.

If you're buying a new TV from Best Buy, add the $49.99 haul-away to your delivery and they'll take the old one with them. That saves a separate trip or service call.

California, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan residents effectively pay nothing for Best Buy drop-off — California through its state-funded recycling program, and PA/WI/MI through a $30 gift card that offsets the $29.99 fee.

Bundle multiple electronics. If you're getting rid of a TV plus other e-waste (old monitors, printers, stereo equipment), one Dropcurb pickup handles everything at a single flat rate rather than paying per-item drop-off fees at a recycler.