
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/4V74XFECYREMDPZD4U7HF27Z5Q.jpg)
The costs of breaking down these screens while responsibly removing the lead and/or mercury limits their acceptance by electronics recyclers, and many will specifically exclude monitors from their materials list. No, especially if you are trying to recycle a CRT monitor. Will all recyclers that accept computers also take monitors? You’ll likely find your city or county offers computer recycling events at least once a year (usually around Earth Day on April 22). The good news is that every time a new law is passed, recycling becomes that much easier for residents in that state. Of those, 17 have banned them from landfills. states require you to recycle some forms of electronics. Is throwing away my computer monitor against the law?Īs of 2017, 25 (or half) of U.S. Best Buy charges a fee to recycle monitors unless you happen to live in California. Both stores accept both CRT and LCD screens, as well as other computer parts. Staples has been recycling computer monitors since 2007, and Best Buy followed suit in 2008. Do any retailers offer computer monitor recycling? There are computer monitor recyclers that aren’t e-Stewards or R2 certified, but if you’re wanting to recycle with one of these certified companies, find a directory of them at and. R2 (originally R2 Solutions) has been around since 2008, and focuses more on certifying the recycling process and data destruction. The two most common electronics recycling certifications for North American recyclers are the Basel Action Network’s (BAN) e-Stewards and Sustainable Electronics Recycling International’s (SERI) R2 Standard.īAN has been certifying recyclers since 2006 to ensure that no electronics are exported overseas. What are the computer monitor recycling certifications I should be asking about? If your area offers bulky waste recycling, computer monitors may be accepted, but it’s a good idea to verify that they’ll be responsibly recycled. It’s highly unlikely that your curbside recycling program accepts computer monitors, even if it collects “scrap metal.” These screens are bulky and made up of multiple materials, so you’ll definitely want to check before putting them in the recycling bin.

This will ensure that nothing breaks if you hit any potholes on the drive.įind a drop-off location for computer monitors near you using the Recycling Locator.įind Recycling Guides for Other Materialsįrequent Computer Monitor Recycling Questions Can I recycle computer monitors in my curbside recycling program?

CRT monitors can be quite heavy and you don’t want to risk dropping them. Use a dolly or a rolling chair to transport the monitor to your car.If the power cord can be removed, unplug that as well. Unplug the DVI, HDMI or VGA cable from your monitor (as well as the CPU) to lighten the load and prevent tripping (for VGA, you’ll need to unscrew the ends).Here are a few steps to take when preparing your monitor for recycling: This means it’s extra important to keep these monitors out of landfills but also treat them with care when recycling. Both are toxic metals that you want to keep inside the monitor. If you have a liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen, it’s likely being backlit by small fluorescent bulbs containing mercury. If you’re looking to recycle a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, which have been mostly phased out of the sales market at this point, it contains four to eight pounds of lead.
