What the rule covers, and who it binds
Like the Massachusetts mattress rule, the e-waste restriction technically binds disposal facilities — but the effect lands on you, because the barrel and the bulk pile stop being options. Covered in practice: TVs of every vintage, computer monitors, CRTs, and computers and laptops. The reason is what is inside — leaded CRT glass, mercury in older backlights, boards worth recovering — none of which belongs in a trash compactor.
Your four legal routes
| Route | Cost | Best when |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer takeback | Usually free | Monitors and laptops you can box and ship |
| Municipal drop-off days | Usually free | You have a car and the city's next collection date works |
| Retailer takeback | Free-to-small fee | You are buying a replacement anyway — take the old one at delivery |
| Pickup (us) | $78–$98/screen | Big TV, real stairs, no car, or part of a larger clear-out |
We list the free ones first on purpose — for a single boxable monitor, shipping it back beats paying anyone. Where pickup earns its fee is everything the free routes do not do: the 75-inch panel that does not fit in a Corolla, the third-floor Allston walk-up, the CRT nobody else will touch, and the load where the TV is one of eleven things going.
What pickup costs, exactly
| Device | Flat price |
|---|---|
| TV under 42" | $84 |
| TV 42–65" | $91 |
| TV over 65" | $98 |
| Computer monitor | $78 |
| Desktop tower | $83 |
| Printer (home) | $78 |
| Microwave | $40 |
| Bag of cables & small tech | $47 |
Minimum job $75. Prices include the carry-out from any floor, hauling, and the certified-recycler fees — the compliant routing is inside the number, not an add-on. Wall-mounted TV? The crew unmounts it; say so when you book.
CRTs: the honestly hard case
The old tube TVs are the problem child of this whole category: leaded glass makes them the most restricted screen type, absurdly heavy for their size, and prone to imploding if dropped. Free routes narrow accordingly — drop-off programs often cap CRT counts, and the big wooden console units get declined outright. We take them at the same size-based TV pricing, which for a basement console CRT in Dorchester is the best deal on this page: two people who have carried one before, up the bulkhead stairs, into the certified stream that exists precisely for leaded glass.
The data step no route does for you
Whatever leaves — with us, a shipper, or the city — wiping data is yours to do first. Sign out and factory-reset smart TVs from the settings menu; for computers, wipe the drive or pull it and keep it in a drawer (five minutes with a screwdriver). Certified recyclers shred at industrial scale and are not browsing drives, but the only certainty worth having is that the data left the device before the device left your home.
Getting it down the Boston stairs
The city's housing stock adds its own e-waste tax: the 65-inch panel that came up the triple-decker stairwell boxed, and must go down bare; the console CRT that has anchored a Southie basement since the Reagan administration. Carry-out from any floor is already in our flat price — no stair fees, no weight fees — and a TV pickup is usually a fifteen-minute stop. If the screen is part of a bigger clear-out, the whole load can run on truck-fill rates instead: $325 for a quarter truck up to $985 for the full 16 cubic yards, whichever prices lower for you.
How booking works
Name the devices (with TV sizes) on the quote page, or upload a photo — the flat total comes back in about a minute. Pick a two-hour window; same-day across Greater Boston is usually open if you book by mid-afternoon. Do the factory-reset before the crew arrives, and the rest — unmounting, stairs, recycling paperwork — is our half of the job.
The bottom line
Screens cannot ride the barrel in Massachusetts, so pick your route: ship it back free if it is small, catch a drop-off day if you have wheels, hand it to the retailer if you are replacing it — and when it is big, heavy, upstairs, or part of a pile, $84–$98 flat puts it in the certified stream without you lifting it. Get your price and reclaim the corner the dead TV has been renting.
E-waste pickup across Greater Boston
Frequently asked questions
Can I put a TV in the trash in Boston?
No — Massachusetts restricts TVs, monitors, and most screens from ordinary disposal, so they cannot go in the barrel or out with bulk trash. The compliant routes are manufacturer takeback programs, municipal drop-off events, retailer takeback when buying a replacement, or a pickup service that routes to a certified e-waste recycler. With us a TV is $84 to $98 by size, carried down from any floor, recycling included.
how much does tv removal cost in boston
Flat Boston prices by size: under 42 inches is $84, 42 to 65 inches is $91, over 65 inches is $98. A computer monitor is $78, a desktop tower $83. Every price includes the carry-out — third-floor walk-up or basement — plus hauling and the certified e-waste recycling fees. Book alongside other items and each just adds its own listed price.
what do i do with an old crt tv in boston
CRTs are the hard case: leaded glass makes them heavy, fragile, and the most restricted screen type, and many drop-off options cap how many they take or decline the biggest console units. We take them at the same flat TV pricing by size — the crew handles the awkward carry (a 90s console CRT is a genuine two-person object), and the tube goes into the certified stream built for it.
Do I need to wipe my data before recycling a TV or computer?
For anything with storage — computers, laptops, some smart TVs — yes, and that duty stays with you on every route, including ours. Sign out of accounts and factory-reset from the settings menu; for a computer, wipe the drive or pull it and keep it. Recyclers shred at scale and are not in the business of browsing drives, but the only data you can be certain about is data that left the device before the device left your home.
Are the free e-waste routes worth trying first?
Often, yes — and we will say so plainly. If you are buying a replacement, retailer takeback at delivery is the single best move. Manufacturer programs work well for monitors and laptops you can box and ship. Municipal drop-off days work if you have a car and the timing lines up. Paid pickup earns its fee when the TV is huge, the stairs are real, there is no car, or the screen is one item in a bigger clear-out.
Can you take other electronics in the same pickup?
Yes — that is the usual booking. A dead TV rarely travels alone: a desktop tower ($83), a printer ($78), a microwave ($40), the drawer of cables. Each priced item adds its own flat price, small stuff bundles into bags at $47, and one crew visit clears the lot with every stream — e-waste, metal, disposal — routed correctly.
Name the devices and get your flat price in about a minute on the quote page.