ยง Bulk Waste, Buildings and Tickets
How to Recycle an Old Phone, Laptop or Tablet in NYC
Erase the data, sign out and pull the SIM, then use a legal NYC route: DSNY drop-off sites, SAFE events, ecycleNYC or a carrier that takes up to 10 phones.
In New York City an old phone, laptop or tablet cannot leave with the trash or the recycling. State law has banned that since January 1, 2015, and the Department of Sanitation treats setting one out as a violation. Back the device up, sign out of its accounts, erase it, pull the SIM and any memory card, then take it to a DSNY drop-off site, a SAFE Disposal event, your building's ecycleNYC program or a phone carrier, which must accept up to 10 used phones from anyone at no charge.
The order matters more than the drop-off point. None of the city routes promises to wipe your data, so the erasing is your job, and it is the slow part: Google warns that an Android reset can take up to an hour, and Microsoft says the full drive clean on Windows makes a reset longer still. This guide covers both halves, the reset device by device, then the legal places to hand the device over once it is blank.
Can an old phone or laptop go in the trash in NYC?
No. The New York State Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act, codified as Title 26 of Article 27 of the Environmental Conservation Law, has prohibited disposing of electronic waste as solid waste since January 1, 2015. DSNY then amended its own rules so that placing electronic waste out for trash or recycling collection is a violation for any person, whether a tenant, an owner or the super who carries the bags down.
The covered list is broad. DSNY's electronics disposal page names computers (desktops, laptops and small servers), portable devices (cell phones, tablets, e-readers and portable music players), monitors, keyboards, printers, external hard drives, game consoles and the cords and cables that come with them. A few items fall outside the act, including digital cameras, GPS units, calculators and loose batteries, and the city notes that those still have their own disposal rules. If you want the wider picture behind these items, the site's guide to the federal categories behind e-waste covers lithium-ion batteries, tube screens and universal waste.
What should you do before the device leaves your hands?
Five steps apply to every phone, tablet and laptop, whatever the brand:
- Back up photos, contacts and files to a cloud account or another device, and open the copy once to check that it works.
- Unpair any watch, earbuds or fitness band linked to the device.
- Sign out of the main account (Apple Account, Google Account or Microsoft account), because a device still tied to your account can lock out the next user.
- Erase it with the built-in reset described below.
- Remove the SIM card and any microSD card, and keep the charger and cable with the device, since DSNY drop-off sites take the cords and cables that accompany e-waste.
The reason to do it yourself is printed on the city's own program page. The ecycleNYC page tells residents to "make sure to erase all sensitive data" before handing electronics in, and nothing in the routes below includes a data wipe.
How do you erase an iPhone or iPad?
Apple's checklist runs in a fixed order. Back up the device, unpair an Apple Watch, then open Settings, tap your name and choose Sign Out. To erase, go to Settings, then General, then Transfer or Reset iPhone (or iPad), and tap Erase All Content and Settings, entering the passcode when asked. Apple notes that erasing turns off Find My and Activation Lock, the feature that otherwise stops anyone else from setting the device up. On a phone that uses an eSIM, choose to erase the eSIM profile when the prompt appears, and call your carrier if the line should move to a new phone. Last, remove the old device from the trusted devices list of your Apple Account so it no longer receives verification codes.
How do you reset an Android phone or tablet without locking it?
Android menus differ by manufacturer, so Google sends owners to the maker's support page for the exact path; on many phones the reset sits in the Settings app under System or General management. Google's preparation list is the useful part: know your Google Account username and password, know your screen lock PIN or pattern, back up to your Google Account, charge the phone to at least 70 percent and keep it connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data while the reset runs.
The trap comes after the reset. Google explains that a reset phone asks for the security details of the Google Account that was on it, to confirm that the owner or someone they trust did the reset. That protects a stolen phone, and it also stalls a donated one at the first screen. Remove your Google Account under Settings, then Accounts, before you reset, and the next owner or the refurbisher gets a phone that starts cleanly. The same steps apply to an Android tablet.
Wiping a Windows laptop or a Mac
On Windows 11, open Settings, then System, then Recovery, and select Reset PC. Choose Remove everything, which reinstalls Windows and removes your files, apps and settings. Before you confirm, open Change settings and turn on Clean data. Microsoft recommends that option when you plan to donate, recycle or sell the PC, because it wipes the drive and makes deleted files harder to recover, at the price of a longer reset. If the drive is encrypted with BitLocker, have the recovery key in hand before you start.
On a Mac with Apple silicon or the Apple T2 Security Chip running macOS Ventura or later, open System Settings, then General, then Transfer or Reset, and choose Erase All Content and Settings. The tool erases every user account, signs the Mac out of Apple services such as iCloud and turns off Find My and Activation Lock. On macOS Monterey the same command sits in the System Preferences menu. Older Macs without the command follow Apple's longer sell or trade-in procedure, which erases the drive from macOS Recovery.
One limit matters for the building office machine that holds rent rolls or tenant files. Microsoft states that its consumer erase does not meet government and industry data erasure standards. The federal reference for those standards is NIST Special Publication 800-88 Revision 2, published in September 2025, which sorts sanitization into three methods: clear, purge and destroy. For a drive that holds records about other people, ask the recycler for a certificate of erasure or have the drive physically destroyed.
Where can you take the device in New York City?
Once the device is blank, pick the route that fits what you hold and where you live. A DSNY notice dated September 16, 2026 lists five year-round Special Waste Drop-Off sites, one per borough: Hunts Point in the Bronx, Greenpoint in Brooklyn, the Lower East Side and Two Bridges in Manhattan, College Point in Queens and Fresh Kills on Staten Island.
| Route | Who can use it | What it takes | Cost and limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Special Waste Drop-Off site | NYC residents, household items only | E-waste with its cords and cables, plus rechargeable and single-use batteries | Free; Tuesday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; proof of residency may be requested |
| SAFE Disposal event | NYC residents only, no businesses | E-waste, batteries, paint and household chemicals | Free; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine; the last fall 2026 date is Saturday, October 24, at Orchard Beach in the Bronx |
| ecycleNYC | Residential buildings with 10 or more units | Computers, TVs, phones, game consoles, cords and cables | Free to the building; no batteries, appliances or light bulbs |
| Phone seller or carrier | Any person | Used wireless phones | Up to 10 phones free, or free shipping to the seller's program |
| Manufacturer take-back | Individuals, businesses under 50 full-time staff, nonprofits under 75 | Covered electronics | Free for those groups under the state act |
The phone rule comes from a separate state law, the Wireless Telephone Recycling Act, Title 23 of Article 27 of the Environmental Conservation Law. The state Department of Environmental Conservation summarizes it this way: a wireless service supplier that sells phones in New York must accept up to 10 used phones from any person during business hours, or offer free shipping to its own recycling program, and must post a visible sign saying so. You do not need to be a customer. The DEC's list of participating suppliers includes AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, with in-store or mail-back options.
What about the battery inside, or a swollen one?
Leave a sealed battery where it is. A phone, tablet or laptop goes to the drop-off as one item, and prying a glued lithium-ion cell out of its case can puncture it. Loose rechargeable batteries follow the city's battery rule: DSNY says not to put rechargeable or lithium-ion batteries in the trash or the recycling, and to bag each one or cover the terminals with clear tape before drop-off. Every store in New York State that sells rechargeable batteries, or products that contain them, must accept rechargeable batteries for recycling. If a store refuses, DSNY points residents to the DEC at 1-800-847-7332.
A phone or laptop with a swollen battery, one that lifts the screen or bulges the case, should not be charged again. Set it apart from other devices on a hard surface away from heat, and take it to a Special Waste Drop-Off site rather than leaving it in a drawer until the next event.
What changes when your building has an e-waste bin?
A residential building with 10 or more units can join ecycleNYC, the free collection service DSNY runs with Electronic Recyclers International. The building applies online, then DSNY arranges a training session or a visit to plan how collection will work. Buildings from 10 units keep residents' electronics in a secure, enclosed area until pickup; buildings with 100 or more units receive DSNY storage bins in two sizes and schedule a pickup when a bin is full or 20 items have been collected.
The bin is a storage point, not a wiping service, so the habit that protects tenants is a short note beside it: erase it, sign out, remove the SIM. Supers who already sort duties by building size will find ecycleNYC sits next to the bin rules in how building size changes a super's duties. Turnover is the busiest moment for that bin, since a departing tenant's laptop tends to surface in the move-out pile at the curb, still signed in.
Questions readers ask about old devices
Can I leave an old laptop beside the trash on collection night?
No. State law has banned disposing of electronic waste as solid waste since January 1, 2015, and DSNY rules make it a violation to place electronic waste out for trash or recycling collection. Use a Special Waste Drop-Off site, a SAFE Disposal event, ecycleNYC or a manufacturer take-back program instead.
Does a phone store have to take my old phone?
A wireless service supplier that sells phones in New York must accept up to 10 used phones from any person at no charge during business hours, or offer free shipping to its recycling program, under the Wireless Telephone Recycling Act. You do not need to be its customer.
Is a factory reset enough before recycling?
For a personal phone or laptop, a reset done after signing out of your accounts, with Clean data turned on in Windows, is the step the makers themselves recommend. For a drive that holds other people's records, Microsoft notes that its consumer erase does not meet government and industry standards, so ask for certified erasure or physical destruction.