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If a gadget still works, repair, upgrade, donate, or resell it before recycling; keeping it in use is usually the better first step. If reuse is not practical, choose a manufacturer, retailer, local collection, or certified electronics-recycling route that accepts your specific device. Before handing it over or mailing it, erase personal data, check the recipient’s instructions, and keep lithium-ion batteries and devices containing them out of household trash and municipal recycling bins.
Choose the best route for the gadget
Start with the device’s condition and whether someone can use it. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends preventing waste where possible; donating working electronics can extend their useful life. If repair or reuse is not viable, recycling is the next route. See the EPA’s electronics donation and recycling guidance and its prevention and reuse advice.
- Working device: Consider keeping it in use, repairing or upgrading it, donating it, or reselling it.
- Device with a fixable fault: Compare repair with replacement and check whether the repair makes continued use practical.
- Device that cannot reasonably be reused or repaired: Find a collection or recycling program that explicitly accepts its category and condition.
Electronics recycling can recover materials, but the widely repeated EPA figures are historical, not current annual estimates. EPA reports that a 2006 U.S. Geological Survey estimate said recycling one million laptops saves energy equivalent to the electricity used by more than 3,500 U.S. homes in one year. The same 2006 estimate said recycling one million cell phones can recover 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium. Those figures describe estimated material and energy recovery at that scale, not what one device or any particular program will recover.
Find a return, donation, or recycling program
There is no single nationwide acceptance list for every gadget. The available route, eligible device, condition requirements, fees, and shipping terms depend on the provider and your location. Check current terms before travelling or sending a device.
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- Use Office Depot's Tech Recycling Service for your broken electronics. Each year, Americans throw away millions of tons of old or broken electronics, creating potentially harmful waste known as tech trash.
- STEP #1: Choose your box size.
- STEP #2: Fill the Tech Recycling Box with as many acceptable items as will fit. Be sure the box can close with all items inside. NOTE: Please do not seal.
- STEP #3: Bring your unsealed Tech Recycling Box to any Office Depot store. A store associate will inspect your box to ensure all items are acceptable and that the box can be closed. If everything meets these guidelines, you will be asked to complete a form and the box will be accepted and shipped for recycling.
- Acceptable items include: Monitors, fax machines, desktop and laptop computers, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, telephones, digital cameras, VCR/DVD players, televisions, cords and cables.
- Check the manufacturer. Look at the current warranty, take-back, mail-in, or trade-in information for your brand. A trade-in offer is not the same as a recycling acceptance guarantee; confirm what happens if the device is ineligible or has little trade-in value.
- Check retailers. Ask whether a nearby store or its mail-in service takes your device type, whether it accepts damaged devices or devices with built-in batteries, and whether there are any current costs or conditions.
- Check local and state programs. Search your local solid-waste agency’s website for electronics collection, household hazardous-waste programs, and community events. State requirements and local collection options differ.
- Use a locator when appropriate. Earth911 and Call2Recycle can help locate collection options, but verify the exact site’s accepted items and current terms with the provider. EPA’s service listings are informational and are not endorsements.
- Verify a recycler’s credentials. EPA identifies R2 and e-Stewards as accredited U.S. electronics-recycler certification standards. Check that the specific facility—not only a parent company or brand—is currently listed, and confirm that it accepts your device.
EPA’s electronics guidance points consumers to state agencies, retailer programs, manufacturer mail-back options, and the Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse for information about state electronics take-back laws. For a U.S. collection or disposal question, your local solid-waste agency is the best place to confirm local rules.
Compare programs before you go or ship
- Acceptance: Is your item—phone, computer, tablet, television, battery-powered device, or accessory—accepted? Ask about its age, condition, and whether it has a built-in battery.
- Cost and logistics: Confirm whether drop-off, shipping, handling, or other terms apply. Do not assume collection or shipping is free.
- Data handling: Find out whether the program requires you to wipe the device and whether it documents data erasure.
- Safety and environmental practices: Check the actual facility’s current R2 or e-Stewards status, then ask how it handles your type of device.
- Battery rules: Ask whether batteries must be removed or delivered separately, and use a suitable battery collection route when required.
Certification is a useful screening factor: EPA says R2 and e-Stewards help assess environmental, worker health and safety, and security practices. Certification alone does not establish that a facility accepts a particular gadget or explain its current data-handling terms. EPA’s guidance on certified recyclers provides further context.
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Prepare electronics and protect your data
Before giving away or shipping a phone, computer, tablet, or other device that stores information, remove personal data. Follow the device maker’s instructions for backing up anything you want to keep, signing out of accounts, disabling activation or device locks, and resetting the device. The exact steps depend on the model and software, so use the manufacturer’s current instructions rather than assuming a reset alone covers every account or lock.
- Check the recipient’s requirements. Ask whether it accepts the model and condition, whether accessories should be included, and what packaging or shipping method it requires.
- Save what you need. Back up or transfer wanted files and make sure you can access the backup before erasing the device.
- Remove accounts and locks, then erase the device. Use the manufacturer’s current guidance for the specific model. If the device cannot be accessed or securely erased, ask the recipient how it handles that situation before handing it over.
- Keep proof where useful. Retain a trade-in or shipping receipt and any data-erasure confirmation provided by the recycler.
EPA says R2- or e-Stewards-certified recyclers wipe laptops and retain records of data erasure. That can help when choosing a recycler, but it does not remove your responsibility to check the provider’s current terms or prepare the device as instructed. See the EPA guidance on protecting data when recycling electronics.
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- Holds electronic waste and LEDs. Electronic waste includes any electronic components that power on and have any chip or board parts. This includes, but is not limited to computers monitors, telecom gear, fax machines, and televisions
- Each UN certified container comes with a poly liner, instructions in English and Spanish, terms & conditions, and a pre-paid return shipping label.
- Access exclusive online features including recycling reports, container tracking, and certificates of recycling.
Handle lithium-ion batteries safely
Do not put lithium-ion batteries—or devices that contain them—in household garbage or municipal recycling bins. EPA recommends taking devices with built-in lithium-ion batteries to an electronics take-back service, a certified electronics recycler, or a local solid-waste or household hazardous-waste program.
If a battery is removable, use a specialized battery recycler, a participating retailer, or a local hazardous-waste program, and follow the battery’s handling instructions. Do not assume that a collection site for electronics also accepts loose batteries. EPA’s used household battery guidance and electronics recycling guidance explain the appropriate routes.
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Check state and local rules
Electronics rules and collection services vary across the United States; states and localities choose their waste-management approaches. A program in one state may not exist, or may have different coverage, in another. Confirm the rule and collection option with your local solid-waste agency and the specific provider.
Illinois illustrates why location and effective dates matter. The Illinois EPA says its Consumer Electronics Recycling Act coverage expands to include peripherals and home-audio components effective January 1, 2027, alongside manufacturer registration and annual collection and recycling program obligations for covered devices. This is an Illinois-specific change, not a nationwide rule. Check the Illinois EPA electronics recycling information for state details.
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- The Supply-061 RecyclePak Electronic Recycling Box provides a prepaid, convenient and environmentally responsible way to recycle a wide range of electronic devices, including computers, tablets, monitors, printers, and other e-waste, ensuring proper disposal and minimizing the potential for hazardous materials to end up in landfills.
- Veolia adheres to the rigorous R2v3 standards, ensuring that your electronic waste is handled responsibly throughout the recycling process, from collection to final disposition, protecting both the environment and data security.
Older national statistics should not be mistaken for current totals either: EPA’s estimate of 438 million electronic products sold in the United States and 2.4 million tons ready for end-of-life management refers to 2009. It is historical context, not a current annual count. See the EPA electronics sustainability information.
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