Waste & recycling

How to Get Rid of a TV


A TV that is not ready to be recycled

2021-03-04

When you are looking to get rid of your TV, it is best to look for options to pass it on secondhand before disposing of it in a dumpster. There are many places you can take your TV to be used second hand, that can go to someone in need in your community. When you take the initiative to recycle items instead of throwing them straight in the trash, you are helping to reuse and re-purpose these items that would otherwise fill up and pollute our landfills. Most states and towns prohibit throwing TVs and other electronics into a dumpster or household trash. Everyone should take the time each year to recycle items such as electronics, to help keep your community clean and also help to give lightly used items to those in need.

Finding Businesses That Will Take TV - With Some Cash Back For You

There are ways that you can sell a lightly used TV, and you can make pretty decent money, too! Places like consignment shops and pawn shops may take electronics. All of these places are different with the items they take, and some do not like to take electronics. There still are places out there that would be willing to take a TV, especially if it is only a few years old. The newer the model, the more likely it is to work and be reliable to sell. If it is lightly used and you took very good care of the item, then there is a higher chance you will be able to sell a TV. With these types of businesses, there is usually a 50/50 or 60/40 deal where the shop selling will make money, and you will make money once the item is sold. When you take the initiative to recycle items instead of throwing them straight in the trash, you are helping to reuse and re-purpose these items that would otherwise fill up and pollute our landfills. Everyone should take the time each year to recycle items such as electronics, to help keep your community clean and also help to give lightly used items to those in need.

Online Sites Where You Can Make a Quick Buck

There are many apps and marketplaces that will allow you to list your site for little to no money. This is sometimes a better alternative than the above. If you are not in a rush to sell your TV, you can list it on many sites like Facebook Marketplace or even Craigslist (the most common sites), and you can claim 100% of the money when you sell. The issue with having a business like a pawn shop sell an item for you is they usually take 50% and up of the total profits made on the item.

There are various apps that you can use to sell your TV. Apps like Letgo, DeCluttr, Nextdoor, and OfferUp can help you to sell your TV for the price that you want. With these apps, you can make selling just local or nationwide, and you can choose whether to include shipping although most of these apps are free for listing, there are options to boost your listing with paid ads. You can get paid to recycle old tech and media through DeCluttr. From CDs, DVDs, games, books, tablets, smartphones, computers, and wearable tech - you can get the most for your money by selling through this app. When the company buys a tech item they cannot use, they will use the parts to refurbish other items to sell. DeCluttr has a Tech Price Promise, which guarantees you will get the first price offered to you or you can send the item back.

Recycling Your TV Back to the Manufacturer

Many electronic manufacturers will gladly take recyclable electronics to refurbish and sell back to customers at a discounted price. This helps to continue the upcycling of electronics while tackling the e-waste issue around the world as we continue to see more and more electronics take over our everyday lives. With TVs, manufacturers that were approved to recycle and take back the electronics were: LG, Sharp, Samsung, Sony, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, and Toshiba. These manufacturers offer free television recycling programs to their customers. You can contact them directly for information about shipping back to the manufacturer. For other TV brands, you can call their customer service lines to see if they have any recycling or buyback programs for upcycling electronics. With Best Buy, you can recycle any TV from any manufacturer that is 32 inches or smaller and receive a $10 coupon from Best Buy. You can contact other local electronic companies to see if they will resell or refurbish your TV or other small electronic devices.

E-Waste Centers

Maybe you did not have any luck with trying to sell your TV online or finding a place in your community that can use a TV. You can then look up E-waste (electronic waste) recycling centers near you. In most communities, they have e-waste drives a few times a year. If you cannot find a drive in your town, you will likely be able to find an e-waste drive in your county. If the e-waste drive is not soon enough, you can find an e-waste recycling online near you and ask which items you can bring. Items accepted at E-waste recycling centers are usually: cell phones, computers, microwaves, TVs, radios, VCRs, and other small appliances.

Preparing Your TV for a Recycling Center

Since many landfills do not accept TVs among other electronics, it is important to look for an e-waste center near you so they can handle your TV properly. To find the closest e-waste recycling site, Earth911.com, and the Digital Tips and E-cycling Central websites have a list of e-waste recycling sites across the U.S. that can help assist with disposing of your electronics. Certain locations have different rules about which electronics they will accept, and with TVs, some locations may not accept LCD screens. When you have found the closest e-waste recycling center near you, be sure to disconnect any of the cords and machines from the LCD TV that belong to you and properly wrap the TV in foam, bubble wrap, or cloth to prevent any damage to the device.

Why Is it Important to Recycle E-Waste?

Now more than ever, it is crucial that consumers do their part for the environment and recycle e-waste at an e-waste recycling center to avoid ending up in a landfill. A lot of these electronics can be refurbished or their parts can be used for other electronic. We all use electronics in our daily lives from wifi devices like Alexa to laptops and cell phones. We rely heavily on these devices to make our lives a little easier. However, we now have more electronics than ever which is becoming an increasing problem to handle in landfills. E-waste represents 2% of America’s trash in landfills but equals 70% of overall toxic waste. At this rate, we are filling up landfills very quickly with electronics that can be recycled and reused.

What to Do About Personal E-Waste

Each person in America is responsible for handling their own e-waste. They need to take the initiative to find out everything that can be recycled in order to avoid filling up the landfills. For your personal electronic devices, it is important to find a locally certified e-waste recycler, so they can be recycled the proper way. E-waste recycling centers that are not certified will send the electronics often to where they can do more damage than good and will have a negative impact on the environment if not handled correctly. With personal electronics like cell phones and TVs, you may even find community outreach programs in your area to donate to someone in need - or you may even have a friend that would need exactly what you are trying to donate. Donating your personal electronics is a better way to get rid of them than having any hazardous e-waste materials filling up landfills and polluting the environment.

The Benefits of Recycling

Recycling has become more popular over the years as global warming has become more of an alarming issue, and calls for recycling and reusing materials nationwide have helped to make a change in how much pollution we encounter in our areas. So why should people continue to recycle?

  • Recycling is easy. There are many recycling bins in government buildings, workplaces, schools, and even near residencies. It is accessible and now more than ever people have less of an excuse not to recycle.

  • Green Jobs are created and recycling creates an industry that is needed to preserve our future. Recycling has become a priority in many areas, including California where recycling produces $10 billion in products and services each year with job creation of 85,000 jobs according to CalRecycle.

  • Energy is saved as there is a nationwide movement to push recycling and green jobs. Using recyclable materials allows for less energy used than making materials from scratch. Cal Recycle also states that “It takes 95 percent less energy to make an aluminum can out of recycled aluminum than out of raw virgin materials.”

  • Natural Resources are kept safer as we continue to focus on preserving our planet for now and for future generations. Encouraging citizens to reduce, reuse and recycle, is helping to have a tremendous positive impact on our environment, cuts down on the usage of raw materials needed to make new products, and helps to save our resources by producing less and reusing more.

How to Junk Your Old TV

If you already have a place to give your TV to whether to sell or give it second-hand, that’s great! If you cannot find a place that will take your TV, Sourgum Waste will be able to take TVs and other electronics for you. Here at Sourgum Waste, we strive to upcycle waste to divert them from landfill streams. With our technology, we are able to create more sustainable living and a greener community by eliminating waste and striving to find continual ways to recycle. Sustainability is our mission and we always find ways to reduce the impact on landfills. Handling waste flow and volume has evolved as the waste management industry has evolved. We are always trying to find new ways to lessen the damage to the Earth by reducing the amount of waste in landfills. We help to reduce carbon emissions from our waste collection vehicles by planting trees to offset the carbon footprint. Contact us today to properly recycle your TV for you!

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Every Dumpster Rental Makes A Difference

When you rent a dumpster from Sourgum Waste, you not only get great customer service and pricing, you make a positive impact on the world. For every dumpster rented, we make a donation to One Tree Planted, an organization that specializes in reforestation efforts. Every rental is equivalent to one tree planted in a reviving forest around the world. Help us heal the planet one tree at a time and order your roll-off dumpster rental today!

Why Hire Sourgum Waste?

Whether you have a TV to get rid of or are looking to get rid of other electronics or junk, Sourgum Waste can help! We have serviced towns across the nation to help with excess junk removal through our innovative Wayste removal systems. Using state-of-the-art technology, we are able to offer hassle-free roll-off dumpster rentals and other waste removal services. With our customer service team is available for you seven days a week.

Looking for environmentally friendly waste services?

Sourgum Waste not only provides you with the best service at the best price, but we are also committed to sustainability. We divert waste from landfills whenever possible and plant a tree for every order placed through us.

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