How to get rid of an old TV in Cincinnati

The short answer

Do not put a TV in your trash cart. Televisions contain electronics and, in older sets, glass and materials that should be recycled, not landfilled. Check your city's or county's electronics recycling options, ask the store where you buy a new set, or book a pickup: $62 for a TV under 42 inches, $68 for 42 to 65 inches and $73 for 65 inches and up, with a $100 order minimum.

Why TVs are their own problem

A modern flat screen is mostly plastic, circuit boards and a thin panel. An older tube TV is mostly heavy glass in a plastic or wood cabinet. Both contain electronic components that recyclers can recover, and both contain materials that do not belong in a landfill. That is why so many trash programs treat televisions separately from ordinary household items. Our research on the City of Cincinnati's bulk program did not find televisions on either the accepted or the excluded list, so ask through 311 or check the City's bulk item FAQ before you set one out. Rumpke's landfill prohibits certain items like batteries and fluorescent lamps; ask before bringing electronics there. The safest assumption is that a TV needs a specific route, not just a spot at the curb.

Option 1: sell it or give it away

A working flat screen less than ten years old will usually find a taker. Post it on a local marketplace with the size, the model and a photo of it turned on. Include the remote and the stand or wall mount if you have them. Students moving into apartments near UC, Xavier and NKU are a steady audience, especially in August. Older tube TVs are harder; very few people want them, even free, because they are heavy and incompatible with a lot of modern gear. Do not leave a TV at the curb with a free sign. They get rained on, broken and kicked, and then the glass is in the street.

Option 2: retailer and manufacturer programs

If you are buying a new TV, ask the store whether it takes the old one, either at delivery or as a drop-off. Some electronics retailers run take-back programs, but they change their accepted items, size limits and fees from time to time, so check current terms before you load a set into the car. Some manufacturers also run mail-back or drop-off programs for their own brands. These programs are worth using when they fit, because they send the TV to an electronics recycler. The catch is the carrying. A 65-inch TV is awkward for one person and does not fit easily in a small car, and a tube TV can weigh as much as a small appliance.

Option 3: local electronics recycling

Counties and cities in the region may offer electronics recycling, whether as drop-off events or through permanent sites, and we have not verified the current options. Hamilton County, the Northern Kentucky counties and Dearborn County each handle this differently, and details change, so check your county's solid waste or recycling page for the current options. Ask what they accept, whether there is a fee for televisions and whether you need proof of residence. Bring the TV with the cords and remote. If your county is between events, a pickup is the way to avoid storing a dead TV in the basement for months.

Option 4: book a pickup

The order minimum is $100, so a single TV is billed at the minimum. A 55-inch TV and its stand come to $68 + $96 = $164. Two older TVs from a basement, one under 42 inches and one between 42 and 65, are $62 + $68 = $130. Carry-out from any floor is included.

Tube TVs in Cincinnati basements

A lot of Cincinnati homes still have a tube TV somewhere, often in a finished basement in Westwood, College Hill or Anderson Township, or in a back bedroom of a long-held family house. They are heavy, deep and hard to grip, and basement stairs in older homes are narrow. Carrying one up is how people hurt their backs and dent their walls. If you are doing it yourself, use two people, lift from the bottom of the cabinet and never carry it by the screen. If you are clearing a whole basement, the TV usually makes sense as part of a bigger booking. A tube TV under 42 inches is $62 like any other set that size, and it is carried up the stairs for that price.

Before the TV leaves

Sign out of streaming apps and do a factory reset on a smart TV, so the next person or the recycler cannot get into your accounts. Remove any wall mount brackets you want to keep; the crew can take the mount too, but tell them. Gather the remote, the cords and the stand in one place. If the TV is still wall mounted, take it down beforehand or note it when you book. Take a photo of the TV where it is for the quote. Same-day pickup is available when you book by 4 PM, and you choose a two-hour arrival window.

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