California E-Waste Recycling: Fees, Drop-Offs, and Penalties

To dispose of e-waste in California legally, take old TVs, monitors, laptops, tablets, phones, and other covered electronics to a CalRecycle-approved collector or recycler. Drop-off is free for consumers at hundreds of authorized sites. Putting these items in household trash or a landfill is illegal, and physically destroying them yourself is also prohibited unless you are an authorized handler.¹

What Can’t Go in the Trash

California’s Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 created a category called covered electronic devices, or CEDs.² A CED is any video display device with a viewable screen larger than four inches measured diagonally, not counting the bezel.³ In practice that pulls in:

CRT televisions and computer monitors
LCD and LED televisions, desktop monitors, and laptops
Plasma televisions (excluding projection models)
OLED televisions, monitors, laptops, and tablets
LCD and LED tablets and smart displays
Portable DVD players with LCD screens

The rules reach beyond screens. California classifies all electronic waste as universal waste, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) uses the term Universal Waste Electronic Devices for the broader group. Household trash is off-limits for any of it.¹

Cell phones are the item people forget most often. The Cell Phone Recycling Act of 2004 requires cell phone retailers to take back used phones from consumers at no charge, so the store you bought your new phone from will accept the old one.¹

Starting January 1, 2026, California added covered battery-embedded products (CBEPs) to the fee program. A CBEP is a product with a battery that isn’t designed to be removed with common household tools: wireless earbuds, electric toothbrushes, robotic vacuums, and similar sealed devices. Medical devices, energy storage systems, electronic nicotine delivery systems, and anything already covered as a CED are excluded.⁴

Where to Take Your Old Electronics

CalRecycle keeps an online directory of approved collectors and recyclers, searchable by location.⁵ Most sites take CEDs at no cost because CalRecycle reimburses them for handling the material.

You have a few other routes:

Electronics retailers periodically run free drop-off events, sometimes with local governments.
Some manufacturers accept their own products back directly.
Cell phone retailers are required by law to accept used phones from any consumer.
Many cities and counties run permanent household hazardous waste facilities or periodic collection events that take e-waste.

Call ahead to confirm hours and that the site accepts your specific device. CalRecycle notes that listed organizations aren’t guaranteed to be in full compliance at any given moment, so established facilities and government-run events are the safer choice.⁶

One thing you can’t do: break the device yourself. DTSC has said that activities like smashing electronics in rage rooms are illegal in California because breaking these devices can release hazardous dust and debris.¹

Wipe Your Data First

Recycling law says nothing about the personal data still on your device. Before you hand off a laptop, tablet, or phone, wipe it. A factory reset is a reasonable start for phones and tablets, though it doesn’t always render data unrecoverable on older hard drives.

For computers with traditional hard disk drives, use a dedicated wiping tool that overwrites the whole drive. Deleting files only removes the pointers, not the underlying data. For solid-state and flash storage, the drive manufacturer’s built-in secure erase function is usually effective. NIST Special Publication 800-88 lays out three levels of media sanitization — clearing, purging, and destroying — for different sensitivity levels.⁷

If a device is too damaged to power on, or the data is highly sensitive, physical destruction of the storage drive is the most reliable option. Professional drive shredding services typically run $7 to $20 per drive. Remember that you still can’t destroy the rest of the device yourself.

The Recycling Fee You Already Paid

California funds this system through a Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Fee charged at purchase. It isn’t a deposit and you don’t get it back at recycling time. The fee is tiered by screen size:⁸

$6 for screens under 15 inches
$8 for screens 15 inches to under 35 inches
$10 for screens 35 inches or larger

Retailers collect the fee and remit it to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.⁹ A separate fee for covered battery-embedded products also took effect January 1, 2026, set independently by CalRecycle.

What Illegal Dumping Costs You

Dumping e-waste is treated as illegal dumping, with fines that escalate on repeat offenses. For an individual, mandatory fines run $250 to $1,000 on a first conviction, $500 to $1,500 on a second, and $750 to $3,000 on a third or later conviction.¹⁰

At commercial quantities, the offense becomes a misdemeanor with up to six months in county jail. Fines rise to $1,000–$3,000 on a first conviction, $3,000–$6,000 on a second, and $6,000–$10,000 on a third. Business owners with more than 10 full-time employees face up to $5,000, $10,000, and $20,000 for successive convictions.¹⁰

Because e-waste is classified as hazardous, disposal violations can also trigger the state’s hazardous waste penalties. Intentional disposal at an unauthorized location carries civil penalties of $1,000 to $70,000 per violation, and each day the waste stays in place counts as a separate violation. Even negligent disposal can reach $70,000 per violation per day.¹¹

If You’re Handling E-Waste for a Business

A business that generates, collects, or recycles e-waste is a universal waste handler under California Code of Regulations Title 22, Division 4.5, Chapter 23, and the rules go beyond what individual consumers deal with.¹² You must file a Notice of Intent with DTSC through its Universal Waste Electronic Devices notification system before collecting or recycling, and annual reports are due by February 1 each year. Exporting e-waste requires a separate export notification.¹ The hazardous waste penalties above apply to businesses in the same way they apply to individuals.

1
Department of Toxic Substances Control. Electronic Hazardous Waste (E-Waste)
2
CalRecycle. Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003
3
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Fees Guide – Industry Topics
4
CalRecycle. SB 1215 Covered Battery-Embedded Products
5
CalRecycle. Where Do I Recycle E-Waste
6
CalRecycle. Directory of Approved Collectors and Recyclers of Covered Electronic Waste
7
Computer Security Resource Center. NIST SP 800-88 Rev. 1, Guidelines for Media Sanitization
8
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Fee – Section 42464
9
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Fees Guide
10
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 374.3 – Illegal Dumping
11
California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code HSC 25189
12
Department of Toxic Substances Control. Hazardous Waste Generator Requirements