Can I put an old TV out with the household trash?

No. State law keeps discarded TVs and computer gear out of landfills, and that's where the trash cart goes. Forsyth County residents can take two TVs a year to the 3RC EnviroStation free. Past that, or if you can't lift the set, a hauler is the way to get it to a recycler.

Should I wipe my computer before it's picked up?

Yes. Pull or wipe the hard drive yourself, or keep it and let the rest of the computer go. Sign out of accounts on phones and tablets and do a factory reset. Ask the hauler where the electronics end up, and whether the recycler they use offers data destruction.

Do mice, keyboards and cables count as e-waste?

Under the state landfill ban, mice and keyboards stopped counting as covered devices on March 16, 2015. The 3RC EnviroStation's list still includes computer mice and cables, so there's no reason to trash them. Put them in the same box as the computer and they go together.

TV and Electronics Disposal in Winston-Salem, NC

Trip fee: $75 to $100 flat for an e-waste pickup is common, even for one item.
Computers and printers: $70 to $90 per unit in one national guide.
Free county drop-off: limited to two TVs per household per year.
Landfill ban: TVs and computer equipment are barred statewide, and lithium-ion batteries join the list on December 1, 2026.

Winston-Salem Junk Co. links you up with a hauler who carries out the dead tube TV, the box of old laptops and the printer nobody uses, all of it bound for an electronics recycler because state law keeps it out of landfills. Tell us what's going and how heavy the biggest set is; a console tube TV is a two-person carry.

TVs and Electronics Bound for Recycling

Two old tube televisions with wood-grain cases on a garage floor, one with a cracked back panel, next to a box of cables

Tube (CRT) TVs

Old tube sets are the hardest electronics to get rid of. They're heavy for their size, the big console models are furniture-sized, and the EPA notes that the funnel glass inside the tube contains lead, which is why CRTs headed for disposal count as hazardous waste. Goodwill of Northwest North Carolina won't accept CRT televisions or CRT monitors. Keep the set upright and don't try to take it apart; the tube is the part you don't want broken.

Flat-screen TVs

Flat screens are light, but the glass panel cracks if it's laid flat or stacked carelessly. Tape the remote and stand to the set or put them in a box beside it. A working TV can be sold or given away; a cracked one is e-waste like any other.

Beige desktop computer towers, two flat monitors and an inkjet printer stacked on a basement shelf with tangled cables

Computers, monitors and printers

Desktops, laptops, monitors, printers and scanners are all covered by the state landfill ban. HomeGuide puts hauling one computer or printer at $70 to $90, and Angi notes a large desktop can run as much as $200. You have a free option here too: Goodwill's RECONNECT program takes computers, printers and monitors of any brand and in any condition at its stores.

Plastic bin filled with old cell phones, a DVD player, a radio, chargers and loose rechargeable batteries

Small electronics and batteries

Phones, DVD players, radios, game consoles and chargers are small, but they add up. Batteries need sorting first:

Lithium-ion. Barred from North Carolina landfills starting December 1, 2026. Laptops, cordless tools and kids' toys are where they hide.
Other rechargeables. 3RC accepts them free.
Alkaline. 3RC's own list says these go in the regular trash.

Gloved worker carrying an old wooden kitchen chair down brick porch steps toward a white pickup with another chair in the bed

Why Winston-Salem homeowners call Winston-Salem Junk Co.

Your request goes to a single independent hauler
Hear the all-in figure before anything is carried out
Calling is free; the hauler bills only the job you OK
Mention stairs, a gate code or a hot tub when you call

Where Electronics Go in Forsyth County

Forsyth County's free drop-off for e-waste is the 3RC EnviroStation at 1401 S Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Hours run 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday only. Bring a driver's license to prove county residency. It takes computers, laptops, monitors, printers, phones, audio and video equipment, and up to two TVs per household a year. It doesn't take non-residential waste, so a business clear-out goes elsewhere.

A hauler makes sense when you have more TVs than the limit allows, a console set you can't lift, or no free Wednesday to Saturday daytime. Ask where the load is going and whether the recycler is set up for CRT glass.

What Electronics Disposal Costs

No local price list exists, so these are national ranges. Angi's guide to e-waste puts disposal between $20 and $200 depending on the items, and a $75 to $100 flat trip charge for electronics is common, which makes one small item expensive. Bundling the electronics with furniture or a garage load spreads that fee out. When you compare quotes, ask whether the price includes the recycler's charges and whether a heavy tube set costs extra. A console TV that needs two people and a dolly is a different job from a 32-inch flat screen, and the quote should say so.

See lawn mower disposal for cordless mowers and power tools with lithium-ion packs.