Landfill Bans by State: What You Can't Throw Away in All 50 States [2026]

The number of item categories banned from landfill disposal varies dramatically by state. Massachusetts leads the nation with bans on 14+ categories — including mattresses, textiles, food waste (commercial), electronics, appliances, yard waste, tires, batteries, motor oil, and paint, per the Massachusetts DEP.

At the other end, states like Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming have minimal state-level bans, relying primarily on federal regulations (such as the EPA Section 608 refrigerant recovery requirement for appliances and the RCRA hazardous waste provisions).

The most commonly banned items across all 50 states are lead-acid batteries and scrap tires. The EPA reports that 48 states have specific scrap tire laws, and nearly every state prohibits lead-acid battery disposal in landfills.

Massachusetts has the most comprehensive landfill ban list in the nation. The Massachusetts DEP bans disposal of electronics, appliances (white goods), mattresses, textiles, tires, lead-acid batteries, yard waste, food waste from commercial generators producing over half a ton per week, motor oil, asphalt pavement/brick/concrete, metal, wood, glass and cardboard containers, and cathode ray tubes.

Other states with extensive bans include:

• •Wisconsin — Bans lead-acid batteries, appliances, tires, yard waste, used oil, cardboard, aluminum cans, magazines, and some plastics, per Wisconsin DNR
• •California — Bans all batteries (including single-use), electronics, appliances, tires, motor oil, paint, and fluorescent lamps, per CalRecycle
• •Connecticut — Bans electronics, mattresses (first state mattress stewardship law, 2013), tires, lead-acid batteries, yard waste, and appliances, per CT DEEP
• •Vermont — Bans electronics, food waste (Universal Recycling Law), tires, batteries, paint, and appliances
• •Illinois — Bans electronics (17+ device types since 2012), tires, appliances, yard waste, motor oil, and lead-acid batteries
• •Oregon — Bans electronics (since 2010), mattresses (SB 1576, signed 2022), tires, appliances, and yard waste
• •Minnesota — Bans electronics, appliances, rechargeable batteries, tires, yard waste, motor oil, and fluorescent lamps

Several states have minimal state-level landfill bans, relying primarily on federal hazardous waste rules. States with the fewest specific bans include:

• •Alaska — No statewide electronics ban, no appliance ban, no mattress ban. Limited to federal hazardous waste rules and basic tire regulations.
• •Montana — No electronics ban, no appliance ban. Tire disposal regulations exist but enforcement is limited.
• •Wyoming — No electronics ban, no appliance ban. Basic tire and hazardous waste rules only.
• •Idaho — No electronics ban. Limited disposal restrictions beyond tires and hazardous waste.
• •Nevada — No electronics ban. Limited appliance restrictions.

The lack of state-level bans does not mean residents can throw anything away freely — federal RCRA rules still prohibit disposing of hazardous waste (including refrigerant-containing appliances without proper recovery) in municipal landfills. Individual landfill operators may also refuse items regardless of state law.

Twenty-three states plus the District of Columbia have an express landfill or disposal ban on electronic devices, according to the Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse (eCycle Clearinghouse). An additional 25 states plus D.C. have some form of e-waste legislation.

The specific devices banned vary by state, but commonly include:

• •Computers (desktops, laptops, tablets)
• •Monitors and CRT displays
• •Televisions
• •Printers, scanners, fax machines
• •Electronic keyboards and mice
• •Cell phones and smartphones

Fines for improperly disposing of electronics range from $25 for a first offense in Illinois to up to $10,000 in California, per CJD E-Cycling. Pennsylvania's Covered Device Recycling Act (2010, enforced 2013) imposes fines of $1,000 for first violations and $2,000 for subsequent offenses. Colorado banned all household electronics from landfills effective July 1, 2013.

Five states currently have mattress stewardship or disposal laws: California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Rhode Island, according to the Mattress Recycling Council (MRC).

• •Connecticut — First state to pass mattress stewardship legislation (Public Act 13-42, 2013). Manufacturers fund collection and recycling through MRC.
• •California — Mattress stewardship program launched in 2016. Over 13 million mattresses and foundations collected to date.
• •Rhode Island — Passed mattress stewardship law joining the MRC program.
• •Massachusetts — Banned mattresses from disposal effective November 1, 2022. Also the first and only state to ban textiles from landfills as of the same date.
• •Oregon — Governor Kate Brown signed SB 1576 in March 2022, creating a statewide mattress recycling program. MRC collected 212,789 mattresses and foundations during the 2024-2025 fiscal year in Connecticut alone, recovering 3,643 tons of steel, per MRC reports.

The remaining 45 states have no mattress-specific landfill ban, though some landfills individually refuse mattresses due to handling difficulties.

There are no broad federal bans on specific consumer products in landfills. However, two major federal regulations affect disposal:

• •EPA Section 608 (40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F) — Requires proper refrigerant recovery from any appliance containing refrigerant (refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers) before disposal. Violating the venting prohibition can result in fines up to $37,500 per day under the Clean Air Act. This applies in all 50 states.
• •RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) — Bans disposal of hazardous waste in municipal solid waste landfills. This covers lead-acid batteries, certain chemicals, and other hazardous materials. RCRA also bans open dumping nationwide.

Beyond these two rules, all other landfill bans are set at the state or local level. This patchwork system means a TV that is illegal to trash in New York is perfectly legal to landfill in Ohio.

Fines for violating landfill bans vary enormously by state and item category:

• •Illinois — $25 first offense for e-waste disposal violations
• •Pennsylvania — $1,000 first offense, $2,000 subsequent violations under the Covered Device Recycling Act
• •California — Up to $10,000 per violation for improper e-waste disposal. Comcast paid $25.95 million to the state for improper e-waste violations at shredding facilities.
• •Texas — $1,000 to $100,000 for individuals with prior convictions for waste disposal violations
• •EPA Section 608 (federal) — Up to $37,500 per day for venting refrigerants from appliances

In practice, enforcement against individual households is rare. Most states focus enforcement on commercial generators, waste haulers, and landfill operators. However, municipalities may refuse to collect banned items in regular trash pickup — leaving residents responsible for finding proper disposal.

When your state bans an item from landfill disposal, you generally have these options:

• •Municipal collection events — Many cities host periodic e-waste, tire, and hazardous waste collection days (often free)
• •Retailer take-back programs — Best Buy accepts electronics, many appliance retailers offer haul-away of old units when delivering new ones
• •Manufacturer stewardship programs — Mattress Recycling Council (MRC) operates free drop-off sites in CA, CT, OR, and RI. PaintCare operates in 10+ states for leftover paint.
• •Scrap metal recyclers — Accept appliances (often for free due to metal value)
• •Curbside junk removal — Services like Dropcurb pick up mattresses, electronics, appliances, and furniture from your curb and handle compliant disposal for a flat fee

The key challenge is that most of these options require time, transportation, and research. Municipal events run a few times per year. Retailer take-back usually requires purchasing a new item. For residents who need an item gone quickly without researching their state's specific rules, on-demand curbside pickup is the simplest path to compliant disposal.

Several trends are expanding the list of items banned from U.S. landfills:

• •Lithium-ion batteries — New Hampshire became the latest state to ban rechargeable lithium-ion batteries from landfills (HB 1386, effective July 1, 2025), citing fire risks at waste facilities. More states are expected to follow as lithium battery fires in garbage trucks and landfills increase.
• •Food and organic waste — Nine states now have some form of commercial food waste ban: California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, per the US Composting Council.
• •Mattress stewardship — After four states enacted mattress stewardship laws between 2013 and 2022, the Mattress Recycling Council reports growing legislative interest in additional states.
• •Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) — Seven states have enacted EPR packaging laws requiring producers to fund recycling infrastructure, which may lead to additional disposal bans.
• •Textiles — Massachusetts became the first state to ban textiles from disposal in 2022. Fashion industry waste pressure may push other states to follow.

The trajectory is clear: landfill bans are expanding, not contracting. Items that are legal to trash today may require special disposal within a few years.

This report compiles landfill ban data from state environmental agencies, the EPA, the Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse (eCycle Clearinghouse), the Mattress Recycling Council, the US Composting Council, and Call2Recycle. Electronics ban counts reference the ERI/eCycle Clearinghouse database. Appliance ban counts reference Earth911 and AppliancePartsPros compilations cross-referenced with individual state statutes. Mattress ban data comes directly from the Mattress Recycling Council. Tire ban data references EPA scrap tire documentation.

Item category counts are approximate because states define "bans" differently — some prohibit all disposal, others only ban commercial generators, and some have partial bans on specific subcategories (e.g., CRT monitors only vs. all electronics). Where sources differ on exact counts (e.g., 22 vs. 19 states for appliance bans), we note the range and cite the source. The 50-state table reflects our best determination of each state's current residential disposal restrictions as of March 2026.