Your Trash Hauler Won’t Take Your TV, Computer

Local trash collectors won't haul away your TV or computer equipment anymore.

Pennsylvania no longer allows desktop or laptop computers, computer monitors, computer peripherals or television sets to be disposed of in landfills or incinerators.

This is the last major step in the Covered Device Recycling Act of 2010. The state law, the beginning of which took effect in 2012, mandates that manufacturers who sell electronics in Pennsylvania establish programs to recycle these electronics without charging the consumers an extra fee.          

"Municipal waste trucks will no longer be collecting these devices for disposal at landfills, so our customers need to get ready for this change," said Tim O’Donnell, president of the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association in a recent press release. "You won’t be able to put old computers or TV sets or computer peripherals at the curb to be taken to the landfill or the incinerator, nor will they be permitted to be mixed in with regular household recycling."
         
You can always check your Patch calendar for e-cycling events or you can recycle your electronics at the following area locations:

• Montgomery County Human Services Center, 1430 DeKalb Street
• Elmwood Park Zoo (parking lot), 1661 Harding Boulevard
• Best Buy, 310 Goddard Boulevard, King of Prussia

You can download a full list of Pennsylvania drop-off points in our PDF section.