How to Get Rid of an Old TV in Sydney (4 Options)

There are four good ways to get rid of an old TV in Sydney: drop it at a council e-waste point, use a take-back scheme, sell or give it away if it still works, or book a pickup. Which one suits you mostly depends on the size of the TV and whether you can move it.

The one place it shouldn't go is a household bin. A TV can be recycled for free through the national scheme, and many councils exclude TVs from kerbside collections. NSW has no statewide ban on binning e-waste (Victoria has one) — here's what the law actually says.

First: is it a flat screen or a CRT?

It changes everything about the job.

Old CRT televisions — the deep, heavy box ones — are the difficult category. A 68cm CRT can weigh 40–50kg, and the screen contains leaded glass. They have essentially no resale value, some drop-off points restrict them, and they're genuinely awkward and dangerous to carry down stairs. If you've got one of these, arrange help to get it safely to the kerbside before booking our pickup.

Flat panels — LCD, LED, plasma, OLED — are lighter but fragile and unwieldy. A 65-inch panel is a two-person carry, mostly because it flexes and cracks if you handle it by one edge. Older LCD backlights can contain small amounts of mercury.

Wipe it before it leaves the house

People factory-reset their phones and forget entirely about the TV. A smart TV holds your Netflix, Disney+, Stan, Prime and YouTube logins, often your Wi-Fi password, and sometimes payment details attached to the app store.

Before it goes: sign out of every streaming app individually, then run a full factory reset from the settings menu, then forget the Wi-Fi network. Two minutes, and it closes off accounts that are genuinely worth something to somebody. Full data-wiping guide.

The four options

1. Council e-waste drop-off

Most Sydney councils run permanent e-waste drop-off points or periodic collection events, usually free for residents.

Good for: smaller TVs if you have a car that fits one and time during business hours.

Catches: you transport it yourself, quantity limits apply, opening hours are narrow, and some sites cap or exclude large CRTs. Check before you drive over with one.

Cost: usually free.

2. Retailer and national take-back schemes

The National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme, which the NSW EPA supports, recycles TVs and computers for free at designated drop-off points, and some retailers accept old units — occasionally when delivering a replacement. Buying a new one? Here's what to do with the old TV when the new one arrives.

Good for: a straight swap when you're buying new.

Catches: availability varies a lot by retailer and location, and it's often tied to a purchase.

Cost: free to modest.

3. Sell it or give it away

If it's a working flat panel less than about eight years old, someone will take it. Free listings move fast.

Good for: working modern panels.

Catches: nobody wants a CRT, and nobody wants a broken screen. Also be realistic — a "free, pickup only" listing that nobody collects means it's still in your hallway in three weeks.

4. Book a pickup

We collect from the kerbside and send it to a licensed e-waste recycler. Please arrange for the TV to be safely placed outside at the kerbside before pickup; our team does not carry items from inside homes, on stairs or from apartments.

Good for: large TVs, CRTs, broken screens, multiple units, or no vehicle.

Cost: from $80 ($150 for a large TV).

Large and big-screen TVs

Big screens are the ones people get stuck with. A 65- or 75-inch panel needs two people and a big car, and it cracks if it flexes on the way — so a drop-off that works for a 40-inch TV stops being practical. Older plasma screens are also noticeably heavier than a modern LED panel of the same size, which matters on stairs.

A large TV is $150 to collect from the kerbside, and it goes to a licensed e-waste recycler like every TV we take. Not sure which size yours counts as? Book the smaller option and we confirm from photos.

If you're moving it yourself, carry it upright with two people, hands at the bottom corners, and use the original box if you still have it.

Can I put a TV out for council bulky collection?

It depends on the council. Some include TVs in a booked bulky collection; others direct them to a separate e-waste stream. Three examples (checked 27 Sep 2026):

• City of Parramatta excludes e-waste — "computers, TVs and their accessories" — from its kerbside collection and points residents to e-waste drop-off instead.
• City of Canterbury-Bankstown accepts televisions and computers in its booked household collection.
• City of Sydney gives residents free weekly pick-ups for electronics, TVs included, booked online.

Either way you can only put it out once a collection is booked for a specific date — otherwise it's illegal dumping.

Check your council's page before you put a TV on the nature strip — our guide to Sydney council bulky collection rules is a good start. Assuming it's fine is how people get fined.

What actually happens to it

At a licensed recycler the TV is dismantled by hand and separated: circuit boards for precious-metal recovery, aluminium and steel from the frame and casing, copper from wiring, plastics sorted where they can be reprocessed, and the hazardous components — leaded CRT glass, mercury backlights — handled through their own controlled streams.

Both the valuable material and the harmful material are worth keeping out of the ground. More on e-waste disposal here.

Frequently asked questions

Can I put an old TV in the bin in NSW?

There's no statewide ban in NSW (Victoria has one), but a TV still belongs in e-waste recycling, not a household bin — it can be recycled for free through the national scheme. What the law actually says.

Do you take broken TVs?

Yes. Cracked, dead, water-damaged — condition is irrelevant. It's being recycled for materials.

Will you take an old CRT?

Yes, and they're one of the more common things we're called for. Arrange for it to be safely placed outside at the kerbside before pickup — they're heavier than they look.

Can you take several at once?

Yes — priced per unit ($80 small–medium, $150 large), all in one trip. Offices and share houses often have three or four.

What about the soundbar, DVD player and cables?

All e-waste, all fine — they go on our $80 e-waste pickup.

Book a TV pickup

Pick your TV size — small–medium $80, large $150 — and we collect it from the kerbside, Monday to Friday, 6am–4pm. Same-day is often possible if you book before noon; otherwise it's usually within 24–48 hours.

Book a TV pickup — from $80 →