In New York City it is illegal to put a television, computer, monitor, phone or games console in the trash or recycling; the Department of Sanitation says so in capitals on its e-waste page, New York State's Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act has banned it since 1 January 2015, and DSNY's own brochure puts the fine at $100. The routes that replace the kerb are all free: DSNY's Special Waste Drop-Off Site in each borough (Tuesday to Saturday, 9 am to 3 pm), the five SAFE Disposal events this autumn starting with Manhattan on 20 September 2026, ecycleNYC pickup for apartment buildings with 10 or more units, the Lower East Side Ecology Center's 26 neighbourhood collection days between now and 7 November, and Staples, where New York is one of the states with no monitor or printer fee. Best Buy's 17 city stores take most things free but charge $29.99 per TV or monitor in New York. Every address, hour and rule below was checked against the source on 26 August 2026.
DSNY Special Waste Drop-Off Sites: one per borough, free
| Borough | Site | How to find it |
|---|
| Manhattan | 74 Pike Slip, between Cherry Street and South Street | Under the Manhattan Bridge, Lower East Side |
| Brooklyn | 459 North Henry Street, Greenpoint | Facility entrance off Kingsland Avenue, north of Greenpoint Avenue (drop-off near 530 Kingsland Avenue) |
| Queens | 30th Avenue between 120th and 122nd Streets, College Point | Northwest corner of DSNY's Queens District 7 garage |
| Bronx | Farragut Street at the East River, Hunts Point | Next to the Fulton Fish Market; enter on Farragut Street off Food Center Drive |
| Staten Island | Fresh Kills, off the Muldoon Avenue exit of the southbound West Shore Expressway | Past the DSNY security booth |
All five are open Tuesday to Saturday, 9 am to 3 pm, closed on legal holidays and in severe weather, and some are not visible from the road. They are for NYC residents only, no businesses or commercial vehicles, and you may be asked for proof of residency such as a New York driver licence or a utility bill. The sites are self-service with DSNY staff on hand. They take all e-waste including cords and cables, plus batteries of every kind, fluorescent bulbs and CFLs, vape pens, up to 10 quarts of motor oil, up to five gallons of paint and up to four passenger tyres per visit.
SAFE Disposal events: autumn 2026 dates
All five run 10 am to 4 pm, rain or shine, residents only, with the same proof-of-residency rule. E-waste accepted covers computers and accessories, TVs and video equipment, phones, tablets, e-readers, games consoles and their cords; plug-in appliances such as microwaves, vacuums and box fans are refused, as is anything containing CFCs. Electronics are recycled or refurbished through ERI.
| Borough | Date | Location |
|---|
| Manhattan | Sunday 20 September 2026 | Union Square Park, North Plaza; cars approach from Park Avenue South and 20th Street |
| Queens | Saturday 26 September 2026 | Cunningham Park ball field parking lot; enter on Francis Lewis Boulevard between Union Turnpike and Grand Central Parkway |
| Brooklyn | Sunday 11 October 2026 | Floyd Bennett Field, Flatbush Avenue at Marine Parkway; turn left into the main entrance before the toll bridge |
| Staten Island | Saturday 17 October 2026 | Midland Beach Parking Lot 8, Father Capodanno Boulevard at Hunter Avenue |
| Bronx | Saturday 24 October 2026 | Orchard Beach parking lot; follow the park drive to the end |
ecycleNYC: free pickup for apartment buildings
Buildings with 10 or more units can enrol in ecycleNYC, DSNY's free collection service run with Electronic Recyclers International. Buildings of 10 to 99 units store residents' electronics in a secure enclosed area for collection; buildings of 100 or more units get a locked bin (2 ft deep, 4 or 5.5 ft wide, 5 or 6 ft high) and call for a pickup when it is full or holds 20 items; buildings of 250 or more units can host collection events. DSNY's 311 page says pickup is guaranteed within five business days. Appliances, batteries and light bulbs are not accepted. Tenants, not landlords, are responsible for disposing of their electronics, so ask your super whether the building is enrolled; if not, the application is on the ecycleNYC page. DSNY's current pages list no curbside e-waste pickup by appointment for houses of one to nine units, whatever older articles say.
Lower East Side Ecology Center: 26 collection days to November
The Ecology Center's community e-waste collection events run 10 am to 2 pm unless stated, in every borough: East Flatbush (29 August), Elmhurst and The Concourse (12 September), East Harlem (13 September), Howard Beach and Mount Loretto (19 September), Jamaica (20 September), DUMBO (23 September), Breezy Point 9 am to noon and Ridgewood (26 September), Bay Ridge and Turtle Bay (3 October), Woodhaven and Flatbush (4 October), Cambria Heights and Inwood (10 October), Little Neck and Woodside (17 October), Borough Park and Jackson Heights (18 October), Forest Hills 3 to 7 pm (21 October), Park Slope and Corona (24 October), Brooklyn Heights (25 October), Flushing (1 November) and Bushwick (7 November). Exact addresses are on the Center's events calendar. Its Gowanus E-Waste Warehouse at 469 President Street, Brooklyn (718-858-8777) takes drop-offs and runs a reuse store, but the Center's site no longer publishes the warehouse hours, so call before you go.
Retail drop-off in New York City: Staples, Best Buy, Goodwill
| Store | Takes | Cost | Limits |
|---|
| Staples (any NYC store) | Computers, phones, tablets, games consoles, monitors up to 49 inches, printers and multifunction machines, cables, chargers, adapters, disc players, calculators, small coffee brewers, batteries | Free in New York: the $29.99 monitor fee, $9.99 printer fee and $2.99 battery fee are all waived in NY | No TVs; daily limits not stated |
| Best Buy, 17 stores (six in Manhattan including 1280 Lexington Avenue, 60 W 23rd Street, 622 Broadway, 52 E 14th Street, 531 Fifth Avenue and 1880 Broadway; four in Brooklyn; three in the Bronx; three in Queens; Staten Island at 2795 Richmond Avenue) | Laptops, all-in-ones, tablets, e-readers, disc players, cables, routers, mice and keyboards, ink and toner, small rechargeable batteries under 100 Wh (a New York and California exception) free; TVs and monitors | Small items free; TVs and monitors $29.99 each in New York (flat panels up to 50 inches, tube TVs up to 31 inches; Insignia and Dynex free) | Three items per household per day, including two TVs and five laptops; residents only; haul-away $49.99 with a replacement product or $199.99 standalone |
| Goodwill NYNJ (any store) | Working flat-screen TVs, monitors, laptops and iPhones (factory reset), printers, scanners, phones, disc players, games and discs | Free, with a donation receipt | Items may be tested; no tube TVs and no computer towers |
The Salvation Army is listed by DSNY as accepting some electronics; check the store before carrying anything in. Under the state Wireless Telephone Recycling Act any carrier store that sells phones must take back up to 10 phones from anyone, free.
What New York law says
The Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act (Environmental Conservation Law Article 27, Title 26, regulations in Subpart 368-3) makes manufacturers provide free and convenient recycling of their own brands to households, small businesses under 50 full-time staff, non-profits under 75, schools and government bodies, and to take one piece of someone else's brand when you buy the same type of product; they may charge only for premium services such as home collection or data wiping. Since 1 January 2015 consumers may not put covered equipment (computers, peripherals, TVs over four inches, small electronics such as consoles and DVD players, CRTs, small servers) in the trash, at the kerb or in a landfill. Larger businesses can be charged. Complaints about a manufacturer or store that refuses go to the DEC tip line, (800) 847-7332.
TVs in New York City
- Any TV, any size, free: a Special Waste Drop-Off Site, a SAFE event, an Ecology Center collection day, or ecycleNYC if your building is enrolled.
- Flat-screen under 50 inches for a fee: Best Buy, $29.99.
- Working flat-screen: Goodwill NYNJ takes it; a tube TV goes to DSNY.
Before you drop off a computer or phone
Sign out of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung accounts, back up, then factory reset; pull or overwrite an old spinning hard drive. Goodwill requires laptops and phones to be reset before it accepts them, and DSNY makes no data promise. Our factory reset guide covers every major device.
Is it worth money instead?
A working phone, tablet or laptop under about six years old usually has a buyer. Check this month's buyback prices in the Trade-In Price Index or run your model through the Device Value Checker before recycling it. Broken devices can be priced with the Scrap Value Calculator.
Nearby cities
Sources
- NYC Department of Sanitation, Electronics and E-Waste page, Special Waste Drop-Off Sites page, SAFE Disposal Events page (fall 2026 dates) and ecycleNYC page (nyc.gov), checked 26 August 2026
- NYC Department of Sanitation, Electronics Disposal Ban brochure (the $100 fine), checked 26 August 2026
- NYC 311, Electronics Disposal article (ecycleNYC tiers, five-day pickup, tenant responsibility, Goodwill and Salvation Army contacts), checked 26 August 2026
- New York State DEC, Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act pages (manufacturer duties, 1 January 2015 consumer ban, covered equipment, Wireless Telephone Recycling Act), checked 26 August 2026
- Best Buy, Electronics and Appliances Recycling program page (Wayback capture of 18 June 2026, because bestbuy.com blocks automated checks) and Best Buy store pages for the five boroughs, checked 26 August 2026
- Staples, Recycling Services page (fee waivers for New York), checked 26 August 2026
- Goodwill NYNJ, donation guide (November 2024), checked 26 August 2026
- Lower East Side Ecology Center, events calendar and E-Waste Warehouse venue page, checked 26 August 2026
