TV and electronics disposal in San Jose

The short answer

California classes TVs, monitors and most electronics as universal waste, so they cannot go in household trash. Around San José you can drop them at an e-waste facility such as Zanker Recycling or the SMaRT Station, use a city program that accepts electronics, return them through a manufacturer or retailer program, or book a flat pickup: $58 for a monitor, $62 for a desktop tower and $77 for a packed box of electronics.

What counts as e-waste

In California, the category is broad. TVs and computer monitors are the obvious ones. Laptops, desktop towers, printers, game consoles, routers, cable boxes, stereo receivers and most small devices with a circuit board also count.

Batteries are their own problem. Santa Clara's Annual Cleanup Campaign, for example, accepts e-waste but excludes lithium-battery devices. E-bikes, scooters, power tools and anything with a large rechargeable battery deserve extra care, because damaged lithium batteries can start fires in trucks and transfer stations.

Many South Bay homes have a drawer, a closet or a garage shelf of old electronics from two or three job changes. There are company laptops that were never returned, monitors from a pandemic home office and docking stations for computers that are long gone. Pulling all of it out at once and sorting it into one pile is the first step.

Wipe your data first

This is the step people skip, and in a region full of engineers it should be second nature. Before any computer, phone, tablet or hard drive leaves your home, deal with the data.

• Laptops and desktops: back up what you need, sign out of accounts, then do a full reset or securely erase the drive. If you are not sure the erase worked, remove the drive and keep it or destroy it.
• Company equipment: return it to your employer. It is not yours to dispose of, even after a layoff or a move.
• Smart TVs and streaming boxes: factory reset to clear logins and Wi-Fi credentials.
• Printers and copiers: some office machines store scanned documents. Check the reset options.
• Loose hard drives: treat them like paper records. Wipe them or physically destroy them.

A removal crew carries equipment out and disposes of it. It does not wipe or certify drives, so do this part yourself.

Drop-off options

Zanker Recycling, 705 and 675 Los Esteros Road in North San José, takes electronics along with construction debris and bulky items. It charges per device, so check its current rates. Its main site keeps weekday hours.

The SMaRT Station, 301 Carl Road in Sunnyvale, is open 8 to 5 daily for residents of Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas and Santa Clara.

City of San José Junk Pickup is free for owners and renters, up to 12 items at the curb on your garbage day. Check the accepted-items list on the City's page for electronics.

Santa Clara's spring campaign accepts e-waste for residents, excluding lithium-battery devices. In 2026 it ran April 27 to May 22.

Many manufacturers and electronics retailers also run take-back programs for their own products. Check before you buy a replacement.

Flat electronics prices

A typical home-office clear-out with two monitors, a desktop tower and a printer is $58 + $58 + $62 + $58 = $236. A garage shelf of mixed electronics in two boxes is $77 + $77 = $154.

Home offices and small business moves

Silicon Valley's churn shows up in electronics. Layoffs, return-to-office mandates and relocations all leave behind a spare room set up as an office: monitors on arms, a sit-stand desk, an office chair, a laser printer and a box of cables.

Clear the whole office in one visit. A motorized sit-stand desk is $108, an office chair $61 and a standard desk $83. A full home office of a sit-stand desk, an office chair, two monitors and a box of electronics comes to $108 + $61 + $58 + $58 + $77 = $362.

Small offices in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and North San José clearing out a suite can use the same list, including cubicles at $163 each and commercial copiers at $97. Office buildings usually ask for a certificate of insurance and a booked loading dock. JunkRabbit emails the COI within one hour of booking.

Booking an electronics pickup

Gather the electronics in one place, photograph the pile and get your price on the instant quote page. Pick individual items or use a box of electronics for loose devices and cords. The total is shown before you book.

Take out loose batteries where you can and bag them separately, and tell us about any e-bike or scooter so the crew handles it with care.

The order minimum is $100. A single monitor at $58 bills at $100 on its own, so add the tower or a box of cords. Vetted, insured local haulers carry everything out from any floor, seven days a week from 8am to midnight, in two-hour windows. Book by 4 PM for same-day pickup. We recycle whatever we can.

Frequently asked questions