Can you put televisions, monitors and electronics in a dumpster?
Direct answer
No. Old tube televisions and monitors contain leaded glass in the cathode ray tube, and roughly half the states restrict electronics from landfill disposal. Massachusetts bans CRTs specifically. Assume no, and check your state before you put a screen of any kind in a container. There is a correct destination for it that is not a landfill.
- General status
- No
- Rule type
- Varies by state
- Category
- Electronics
- States verified
- MA
Where the answer is different
- Massachusetts — Cathode ray tubes — televisions and computer monitors — are banned materials. (310 CMR 19.017)
States not listed here are unverified, not permitted. We publish a state verdict only after reading the rule at the state agency, because a wrong answer here gets a load rejected at the transfer station and the cost lands on whoever rented the container.
Where it goes instead
Municipal e-waste collection events and retailer take-back programs. Many are free for households.
Sources
- Primary source MassDEP Waste Disposal Bans — Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection · last reviewed 2026-08-17
mass.gov refuses automated requests from this build environment (HTTP 403). The ban list was read from the publisher’s own guide through a search index and cross-checked against the October 2021 amendment document below.