Electronics recycling near you in Texas
Old electronics are the item people most often try to dump and get turned away for. Most Texas landfills won't bury them — and the ones that accept them usually restrict it to residents only. The good news is that recycling them is almost always free, if you know which door to knock on. Here's who takes e-waste in each city, plus a ZIP search for the nearest recycling facility.
Where electronics go, city by city
| City | Where to take it | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Houston | Environmental Service Center — North (5614 Neches St) or South (11500 S. Post Oak Rd). Not the Neighborhood Depositories. | Free for residents |
| Austin | Recycle & Reuse Center, 2514 Business Center Dr — appointment required, book before you go. | Free for Austin/Travis residents |
| Dallas | McCommas Bluff Landfill accepts electronics — but from residents only. | Free for Dallas residents |
| Denton | City of Denton Landfill, 1527 S. Mayhill Rd — takes electronics at the gate. Or Computer Crusher Recycling, 2141 Collins Rd. | $11.50/item resident · $20 non-resident |
| Arlington | Fort Worth Environmental Collection Center, 6400 Bridge St (open to Arlington residents). | Free |
| Fort Worth | Any of the four city Drop-Off Stations accept household hazardous waste and e-waste. | Free for residents |
| San Antonio | Not accepted at the bulky waste centers — use a household hazardous waste drop-off. | Call 3-1-1 |
| Other cities | Use the ZIP search below to find your nearest recycling facility, then call to confirm they take e-waste. | Varies |
Verified from official city sources, July 2026. Most e-waste drop-off is free; call ahead for large quantities or commercial loads.
Find electronics recycling near you
Enter your ZIP to see the closest recycling facilities. Call ahead to confirm they accept e-waste — not every recycler does.
Why the landfill usually says no
Electronics contain lead, mercury, cadmium and lithium — none of which anyone wants leaching into groundwater. That's why they're pulled out of the normal waste stream and handled at environmental service centers rather than dumped at the working face.
It's also why the free drop-offs are almost always restricted to residents. The city is absorbing a real recycling cost per unit, so they want to see a utility bill or a driver's license proving you live there.
Before you recycle it, check whether it's worth something
A working computer, phone or TV from the last few years still has resale or trade-in value, and a genuinely dead one may still be worth something for parts. Recycling is the right end of the line — but it's the last stop, not the first.
If the item is usable, Houston's Reuse Warehouse and Austin's Recycle & Reuse Center both let residents drop off working items for someone else to take home, free.
- Wipe your data first. Factory-reset phones and computers, and remove hard drives if you're paranoid — most recyclers make no promises about data.
- Remove batteries where you can. Loose lithium batteries are a fire risk and many sites want them separated.
- TVs and monitors are the heaviest and most restricted item — call ahead if you have several.
- Bought a replacement? Many retailers take the old unit at delivery, which beats any trip.
Where to recycle electronics for free near you
You usually don't have to pay to recycle electronics in Texas — you just have to use the right drop-off. Three free routes cover almost everyone:
- National retailers. Best Buy takes most electronics free at any store (up to three items per household per day), and Staples accepts smaller electronics and accessories free. Neither asks for proof of residency, which makes them the easiest option when your city's center is residents-only.
- Your city's environmental service center. Houston, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington all take e-waste free for residents with a photo ID or utility bill. Austin's Recycle & Reuse Center is appointment-only; the rest are walk-in during posted hours.
- Manufacturer and carrier take-back. Apple, Dell, Samsung and the major phone carriers all run free mail-in or in-store recycling, and many will haul off your old unit when a new one is delivered.
The main exception is Denton, which charges about $11.50 an item even for residents — so a Best Buy run is the cheaper move there. For a TV or a pile of old gear that won't fit in the car, a junk-removal quote is often less than the value of the afternoon it would take you to sort out.