No. It's been illegal since January 1, 2015. New York's Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act bans covered electronics from the trash, the curb, and every landfill in the state. That old TV sitting in your basement can't go out with Tuesday's garbage — your hauler isn't allowed to take it, and depending on your town's enforcement, leaving it at the curb can earn you a violation notice instead of an empty curb.
Plenty of people in the Hudson Valley still don't know this, which is why you see TVs sitting on curbs for weeks. They're not being ignored — they legally can't be collected with regular trash.
What the law covers
The ban applies to most household electronics: TVs (including the old tube sets, which are the worst offenders), computers and laptops, monitors, keyboards and mice, printers, tablets, DVD and Blu-ray players, game consoles, and small servers. If it has a circuit board and plugged into a wall or ran on a charger, assume it's covered.
Why the state did it
Electronics are full of materials that don't belong in the ground. Old tube TVs can contain several pounds of lead. Circuit boards carry heavy metals. Batteries leak. One TV in a landfill is a problem; thousands a year across the state was a big one — so New York pushed the whole category into a separate recycling stream.
Your legal options in the Hudson Valley
You've got four, and they're all better than letting a dead TV colonize your garage for another decade:
- Manufacturer take-back. The same law requires electronics manufacturers to accept their own products back for recycling. Check the brand's website for their mail-back or drop-off program.
- UCRRA in Kingston. The Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency on Flatbush Road runs electronics recycling for county residents. Check their current hours and rules before you load the car.
- Town collection events. Many Hudson Valley towns run periodic e-waste collection days. Your town website will list the next one.
- Have it hauled with everything else. When we do a basement cleanout or any pickup, electronics get separated on the truck and routed to certified e-waste recycling — the TV rides along with the couch, and each ends up where the law says it should. There's no minimum charge, so a single dead TV is a legitimate call.
The honest comparison
If it's one laptop and you're driving past Kingston anyway, the DIY drop-off costs you nothing but time. If it's a 200-pound rear-projection TV in a finished basement, three old monitors, and the rest of a cleanout on top — that's what we're for.
FAQs
Is it illegal to put a computer in the trash in New York?
Yes. Computers, laptops, and monitors are covered under the state's electronics disposal ban, in effect since January 2015. They have to go through a recycling stream, not the garbage.
Where can I recycle a TV near New Paltz or Kingston?
UCRRA's Kingston facility handles electronics for Ulster County residents, many towns hold collection events, and manufacturers run take-back programs. Or we pick it up — solo or as part of any load — and route it to certified recycling.
Do you charge extra to take TVs and electronics?
Electronics ride in the truck like anything else — the price is based on total volume, quoted upfront and free. And there's no minimum charge, so one TV is a real job, not an apology.