TV and electronics disposal in Detroit

The short answer

Wipe or remove the drives, sell or give away what works, and then use a drop-off if your city has one or book a pickup. SOCRRA's drop-off center in Troy takes electronics by appointment for residents of its 12 member cities. Flat pickup prices: box of electronics $77, desktop tower $62, monitor $58, home printer $58, TV $62 under 42 inches, $68 for 42 to 65 inches, $73 above that. Orders under $100 are billed at the $100 minimum.

First: your data

Old computers, phones, tablets and even some printers store personal data. Nobody handling them downstream should be your security plan.

• Computers: back up what you need, then use the operating system's reset or erase option. For an old machine that will not boot, remove the hard drive and keep it, or physically destroy it.
• Phones and tablets: sign out of every account, then factory reset.
• Office printers and copiers may have internal storage. Check the manual for a data-clear function.
• Smart TVs and streaming boxes: sign out of streaming and shopping accounts, then reset to factory settings.
• Paper files in the same home office: SOCRRA's drop-off center offers shredding for residents of member cities.

In an estate cleanout, this step is easy to miss. A parent's desktop in a Grosse Pointe study or a Livonia basement office may hold tax returns and bank records. Pull the drive before the computer goes anywhere.

SOCRRA residents: the Troy drop-off

SOCRRA's member cities are Berkley, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Clawson, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak and Troy. Their residents can use the drop-off center at 995 Coolidge in Troy for electronics, household hazardous waste, recycling and shredding. It is by appointment and for residents only, not haulers.

For a Royal Oak or Ferndale household with a car and a few small items, it is the obvious first stop. It is less practical for a 65-inch TV, a basement full of old equipment, or anyone outside the twelve cities.

Everyone else

Detroit: weekly bulk pickup since June 3, 2024, up to 2 cubic yards a week, out by 7 a.m. Check the city's bulk page for how it treats electronics.

Warren: the city recycling center takes electronics for residents.

Dearborn: the free DPW drop-off at 2951 Greenfield runs on the third Saturday of each month, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., for residents. Check what it accepts before you load the car.

Other suburbs: look for electronics collection days on your city's site.

If none of those fit, the timing usually decides it. A drop-off that runs once a month, or one that needs an appointment, is fine for a printer you can keep in the closet a few more weeks. It is less useful when a lease ends Friday, a house closes next week, or the electronics are part of a bigger cleanout already being booked. In those cases, adding the TV and the box of cables to the same pickup is simpler than a separate trip.

The home office clear-out

Metro Detroit has a steady churn of relocations, from the auto companies in Dearborn, Warren and Auburn Hills to the office towers of Southfield City Centre. When a household moves, the home office is often the last room packed and the first one people decide not to take.

A typical home office clear-out:

• Desktop tower and two monitors: $62 + $58 + $58 = $178
• Add an L-shaped desk and office chair: $178 + $134 + $61 = $373
• Add a 4-drawer filing cabinet, emptied: $373 + $75 = $448

A small business office in a Southfield or Troy suite, closing or downsizing, looks different: two cubicle workstations, a conference table and a commercial copier is $163 + $163 + $260 + $97 = $683. Buildings like that usually need a certificate of insurance and a loading-dock time; the COI is emailed within 1 hour.

Everything is carried out from any floor, including a basement office.

Electronics prices

A box of electronics means a moving-box-sized carton of cables, routers, old phones, keyboards and small devices. Two of those from a Midtown apartment move-out are $77 + $77 = $154.

Batteries and anything that leaks

Loose lithium batteries, swollen laptop batteries and old UPS backup units should be separated and handled carefully. Hazardous waste is not part of a standard pickup and is handled case by case, so ask first. SOCRRA residents can take household hazardous waste to the Troy drop-off center by appointment.

Tape the terminals of loose batteries and keep any swollen battery out of hot cars and sunny windowsills until it is dealt with.

Where it goes

We route electronics to recyclers and recycle whatever we can. Usable items may be donated when local charities accept them. Get a price from a photo, pick a 2-hour window, and book by 4 PM for same-day pickup, 7 days a week. For a single TV, see how to get rid of a TV in Detroit.

Frequently asked questions