Television
How to get rid of a television
Start with whether you have to pay at all. Your city or county may take it, and in some places a retailer or a charity will. The order below is the same everywhere; the answers are local, so put your postal code in and we will tell you what we have actually checked.
No phone number and no address. You get the answer first.
Before you put it out
There is a rule about this
Fifteen states and the District of Columbia ban televisions from household waste: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin. There is no federal ban, so outside those places it comes down to your own state and hauler, but most kerbside collections refuse televisions anyway because of what is inside them.
Where it is banned the penalty is set by the state and falls on the household that put it out, not on the crew that collected it.
Retailers that sell televisions and municipal depots very commonly take them free, so paying somebody to remove one is usually unnecessary. Maine is a useful warning about detail: it bans mercury-containing LCDs rather than every flat panel.
United States · Landfill bans by state, Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse · checked 2026-09-14
The order worth trying
- Usually free
The delivery driver may take the old one
Retailers very often remove the old appliance when they deliver the new one, free or for a small fee, and in some places they are legally required to offer it. It is the easiest route and almost nobody asks for it.
Search old appliance removal with delivery - Usually free
Electronics are restricted almost everywhere
Screens and electronics are banned from household waste in a lot of places because of what is inside them. Municipal depots and large electronics retailers commonly take them free, so it is worth checking both before paying anyone to carry one away.
Search electronics recycling drop off - Low cost
The transfer station, if you can move it
Municipal recycling sites normally take household quantities for nothing or for a small charge. Worth it only if you can lift it and have somewhere to put it, which for a television is the real question.
Search recycling center opening hours - You pay
Then, and only then, pay somebody
If the free routes are out, get more than one price and ask what is included before anyone turns up. The fees that turn a good quote into a bad bill are call-out charges, minimum loads, stairs and disposal levies.
Now check what applies where you are
Everything above is true everywhere. Whether your city or county will take a television, and what it costs if they will not, is local, and that is the part we have actually checked.
No phone number and no address. You get the answer first.
Questions people ask about a television
Will my city or county take a television?
Often, yes, and that is the first thing worth checking. Many run a bulky waste collection and a lot of people never think to look, which is the single most common reason somebody pays a hauler when they did not have to. Tell us your postal code above and we will show you what we have checked where you are.
What does it cost to have a television taken away?
It depends on volume and on where you are, and we will not invent a figure. We show a range only where at least three companies in your area have published their prices, because two numbers are not a going rate.
Is it cheaper to take it to the transfer station myself?
Usually, if you can lift it and have something to carry it in. Municipal sites normally take household quantities for nothing or for a small charge. For a television the honest question is whether moving it is realistic.