how do I get rid of my old TV

June 1, 2017 8:42 AM

I have a 10 year old 50 inch DLP tv that's starting to show it's age. How do I get rid of it?

By showing it's age, I mean that the DLP chip itself appears to have some stuck mirrors meaning that there's 12 stuck pixels or so. It's been getting another one every 2 weeks or so, though maybe has slowed down now? I'm not sure.

I'm not interested in repairing it myself, and the component to repair it is $180, which is about the price that these TVs seem to be going for on craigslist. So the value of the TV is basically $0.

Donating it seemed like it might be an option, except all of the local charity donation places seem very wary of accepting TVs older than 5 years, or that aren't flat panel. Plus it feels a little icky giving someone a busted TV as a donation.

So that seems to leave it at disposing of it. It looks like recycling it isn't simple, and Illinois apparently helps make that harder. But it's doable for somewhere around $100. Or I can hope that Chicago's infamous junker's pick it up from the alley for free.

Is there an option I haven't thought of? Or is there a caveat making one of the above options better / worse?

posted by garlic to Technology (10 answers total)

Best answer: If you get a new one, most places will take your old one away as part of the delivery.
posted by Etrigan at 8:52 AM on June 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I don't know how it is where you are, but a lot of places around here have electronics recycling events during the summer. Some take TVs, some don't, but it's worth doing a search for it.
posted by xingcat at 8:55 AM on June 1, 2017 [3 favorites]

My city has designated "electronics drop-off" stations where you can basically just leave anything, TVs, appliances, etc. and they are disposed of. See if Googling in that vein turns up any results?
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 9:00 AM on June 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you're comfortable having a stranger come to your house (or at least your sidewalk), you might be able to give it away on the free section of Craigslist or on Freecycle. No need to feel icky if you're honest about its condition.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 9:06 AM on June 1, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: If you're in Chicago proper (per your profile), you can take it out to the Household Chemicals & Computer Recycling Facilitiy Overview during various odd hours.
posted by zachlipton at 9:10 AM on June 1, 2017 [3 favorites]

In WI Best Buy accepts old TVs up to, like, 40-something inch screens. Might be worth checking into that, if they have a local brick/mortar.
posted by mcbeth at 9:28 AM on June 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

FYI, Best Buy stopped taking old TVs/monitor for free. It's a $25 fee now to drop off and charges $15 haul-away if you buy a new one.
posted by k5.user at 10:10 AM on June 1, 2017

Seconding CL's free section.

Drag it to the corner/alley, tape a sign saying "free". Post on Craigslist if you want to speed up the process. It'll be gone in well under 24 hours.
posted by booooooze at 10:52 AM on June 1, 2017

All other things being equal (including price) I bought my new TV from Best Buy partly because they'd haul the old one away for a mere $15 more. That was less than it would have cost me to rent a van and drive the thing to the municipal e-waste drop-off. But that only works if you're planning to buy a new TV.
posted by fedward at 2:09 PM on June 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

Have you search via Earth911? It's amazing the recycling opportunities they'll turn up sometimes.
posted by magstheaxe at 10:10 AM on June 2, 2017