What's Accepted What's Not Accepted Quantity Accepted Public Waste Drop-off Locations  Contact Us Waste Management Home Page

Electronics can be dropped off for recycling at one of York Region's
Public Drop-off Depots.

What's Accepted

Items Such as:

• computers including modems, attachments, cables and software (e.g. disks, CDs, DVDs)
• monitors, printers, scanners, electronic games (e.g. Nintendos)
• photocopiers, fax machines
• telephones, cellphones, pagers, PDAs, answering machines
• cameras
• VCRs, DVD players, radios, stereos, turntables 
• video projectors
• automobile "computer" modules
• televisions
• amplifiers, receivers, tuners, audio speakers from stereos and automobiles
• electronic thermostats without mercury

What's Not Accepted

• Electronic thermostats with mercury (take to Household Hazardous Waste Depot)
• Small appliances such as microwaves (these are accepted as scrap metal at Georgina and East Gwillimbury depots, McCleary Court CEC and Elgin Mills CEC).

Quantity Limits

York Region limits the amount of electronic equipment accepted per visit for recycling at the Region's Public Drop-off Depots.

Quantities per visit are limited to:

• 4 units of computer equipment, which can be comprised of any combination of hard drives and monitors (e.g. 1 monitor + 2 hard drives + 1 laptop = 4 units). Other peripherals such as keyboards, mouse or software can be included with the equipment, and will not be counted in the 4 unit limit; plus
• 2 televisions (please see note below with regards to handling broken televisions); plus
• 6 other units of electronic equipment, such as VCRs, DVD players, printers, cell phones, etc.

This policy is intended to ensure that only residentially generated quantities of electronic equipment are brought to the depots in compliance with the relevant depots' operating Certificate of Approval with the Ministry of the Environment.

Residents are responsible for unloading their own vehicles.

Please Note:

• televisions that are physically broken (i.e., cracked screens, frames removed) are accepted at York Region's electronics drop-off depots.
• residents with broken televisions are advised to handle carefully, and should notify the depot attendant prior to removing the unit from their vehicle.
• disassembling, taking apart or breaking televisions is strongly discouraged, as they contain hazardous materials.
• remove all packaging and batteries from electronics before delivery to a depot
• thermostats, which contain mercury, must be delivered to a Household Hazardous Waste Depot
• batteries are accepted at Household Hazardous Waste Depots

Click here for instructions on disposal of Household Hazardous Waste or refer to the Publications page for our guides.

Did You Know?

• Electronic materials can contain harmful substances such as mercury, lead and cadmium.

• Recycling electronic waste will ensure that materials are recycled, reused or disposed of responsibly.

• Reusing valuable and limited resources that can be found in electronics, such as steel, copper, aluminum and other precious metals can help reduce the need to mine for new raw materials.

• Even recycling an item as small as a cellphone makes a difference in protecting the environment and increasing diversion.

• Electronics can be dropped off for recycling at one of York Region's Public Drop-off Depots or at one of our our Electronic Collection Events throughout the Region. To locate an event near you, please visit our Special Events Page.

Contact Us

For more information, please e-mail us at: EnvironmentalServices@york.ca or call the Region at 1-877-449-9675 ext. 3000 for waste management information.