Blog · Waterloo
Where do old electronics go in Waterloo, and what has to happen first?
Electronics cannot go in the black cart or out with bulky items anywhere in Waterloo Region. They have their own recycling system, and the one step nobody else will do for you is clearing the data.
Last updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Waterloo Junk Removal team
The rule: no electronics at the curb or in the landfill
The Region of Waterloo banned electronic waste from both its landfills and its curbside collection in June 2005. A TV or printer set out beside the cart gets a "not allowed" sticker and stays where it is. That applies to houses in Lakeshore and Beechwood, to student rentals, and to the small multi-unit buildings the Region collects from.
The Region points residents to Ontario's electronics recycling program, run by the Electronic Products Recycling Association (EPRA). The Region describes it as covering computers, keyboards, phones, printers and more, with free drop-off locations.
What counts as electronics, and what does not
Electronics for these purposes means devices with circuit boards and screens: computers, monitors, TVs, printers and scanners, phones, gaming consoles, stereo equipment, cameras and the cords and peripherals that go with them.
Several things people lump in with electronics follow different rules:
- Batteries, including the loose lithium batteries from laptops and tools, go to the Region's household hazardous waste depot at 925 Erb Street West, Gate 2, or to battery collection programs. Drop-off at the depot is free.
- Fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent bulbs also go to the hazardous waste depot.
- Fridges, freezers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers are appliances with refrigerant. They are not collected at the curb and go to a Region drop-off site, where a fee applies.
- Stoves, dryers and dishwashers can go out on bulky item day, with doors taped shut.
Wipe the data first
Recycling programs accept devices, not responsibility for what is on them. Before a computer, phone or tablet leaves your hands:
- Back up anything you want to keep.
- Sign out of accounts and turn off device-finding features so the next owner or recycler is not locked out.
- Do a full factory reset on phones and tablets.
- For computers, either use a secure erase tool or remove the hard drive or solid-state drive and keep it.
- Remove SIM and memory cards.
- Do not forget printers and copiers with internal storage, and old external drives in a drawer.
EPRA publishes device-wiping guidance for common operating systems. When a crew picks up electronics, the data on them remains your responsibility, so do this before the pickup, not after.
Reuse before recycling
Recycling recovers materials; reuse keeps a working device in use. The Region's own reuse suggestions include independent phone and computer repair shops, used electronics retailers for games, consoles, cameras and audio gear, thrift stores, and phone carrier take-back programs. A laptop that is five years old and still boots is often worth more to a student than to a recycler.
Phones, tapes, disks and the odds and ends
A few smaller categories have their own routes, according to the Region's reuse and recycling list:
- Old mobile phones can go back through carrier programs such as Bell's Blue Box program, as well as the electronics drop-off system.
- VHS tapes and computer disks are handled by Project Get Reel, a program the Region names for media that does not fit the regular electronics stream.
- Cables, chargers, remotes and keyboards go with electronics, not in the black cart. A shoebox of tangled cords is still e-waste.
- Toner and ink cartridges are best returned through the retailer or manufacturer take-back program for the brand.
When clearing a whole house, a family home in Beechwood or a condo uptown, set up one box for electronics and one for batteries as you go, so nothing ends up in a garbage bag by mistake.
Offices and the tech corridor
Waterloo's offices turn over equipment in batches: a floor of monitors after an upgrade, a server closet after a move to the cloud, a lease ending with desks, chairs and cabling left behind. A few points make those clear-outs smoother:
- Decide who handles the data. Businesses with drives containing client or employee information usually want a certified data destruction service. Have drives pulled and handled before general equipment is removed.
- Separate electronics from furniture. They go to different places, so keeping them apart on the day saves time.
- Note what is leased. Leased copiers and phone systems usually go back to the leasing company, not to recycling.
- Check the building's rules. Loading dock and elevator bookings in uptown towers often need notice.
See office and commercial junk removal for how the crew handles workstations, cubicles and equipment in the same visit.
When a pickup makes sense
A single laptop or phone is easy to drop off yourself. A basement with an old tube TV, a dead desktop tower, two printers and a box of cables is heavier and more awkward than it looks, and old CRT televisions in particular are heavy. The crew carries electronics out with everything else, keeps them separate from garbage, and takes them to an electronics recycling stream. Appliance and electronics removal explains what is included, and the Waterloo junk removal cost guide shows how electronics loads are priced. Wipe the drives, then send a list or photos.