Old electronics are the most common thing sitting in KC basements that people genuinely don't know what to do with. TVs and monitors contain lead (old tube sets carry several pounds of it in the glass alone), circuit boards carry heavy metals, and most curbside programs in the metro won't take any of it. The good news: Kansas City has more legitimate e-waste options than almost any category of "hard" junk. Here they are, ranked roughly from cheapest to easiest.
1. Free county drop-offs and collection events
If you're on the Kansas side, Johnson County accepts electronics from residents through its recycling programs, and Olathe residents can drop e-waste free at the city's household hazardous waste facility. On the Missouri side, watch for the recycling collection events that cities and the MARC Solid Waste Management District run through the year — they're periodic rather than everyday, but they're free. Check your city's solid-waste page for the next date before loading the car.
2. Retail take-back: Best Buy and Staples
Best Buy stores accept most electronics for recycling, and it's the most predictable option for TVs — expect a fee of roughly $30 per TV or monitor, with limits per household per day. Smaller electronics (cables, laptops, printers) are often free. Staples takes computers, printers, and small electronics but not TVs. Fees and limits shift, so check the store's current recycling page before you go.
3. Certified local e-waste recyclers
The KC metro has several certified electronics recyclers that take residential drop-offs — MRC Recycling has locations on both sides of the metro including Independence, and PC Disposal serves the greater KC area with TV recycling priced by screen size. Tube TVs cost more than flat screens everywhere, for a real reason: that leaded CRT glass is genuinely expensive to process responsibly. If a recycler offers to take a tube TV for free with no certification, ask where the glass goes.
4. Donate — but only what actually works
A working flat screen with a remote is donate-able — thrift stores and shelters can use it. A dead one, a tube TV of any kind, or anything missing cables generally isn't; donation centers pay disposal costs on what they can't sell, so donating broken electronics just moves the problem onto a charity. When in doubt: if you wouldn't buy it at a garage sale, recycle it instead.
When a pickup makes more sense
Honestly: if it's one working-weight TV and you own a vehicle, the options above are cheaper than hiring anyone. A pickup earns its price when the TV is a 200-pound tube set in a basement, when it's part of a bigger cleanout, or when you simply want it gone today. We haul TVs, monitors, computers, printers, and general e-waste across the KC metro from $100 (our single-item trip minimum), and everything electronic we collect routes to certified e-waste recyclers — not the landfill. Wipe your hard drives before any option on this page, including ours.