Computer Monitor & Printer Disposal in Sydney
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Monitors and printers are the two items that accumulate in garages, storerooms and under desks and never get dealt with. Neither belongs in a bin, and printers have a data problem most people don't know about.
Printers store your documents
This is the one that surprises people. Many printers — particularly office multifunction devices, but plenty of home models too — have internal storage, and they use it.
What can be on there:
- Scanned document images, sometimes going back months
- Fax logs and stored faxes
- Print job spool data
- Wi-Fi network credentials
- Address books — email addresses and fax numbers
- Admin passwords, often still the default
For a business, this is a genuine exposure. Contracts, invoices, ID documents and HR paperwork all get scanned, and the machine may have kept images of them.
Before disposal: run a factory reset from the printer's admin menu, and on a business machine check whether it has a hard drive and whether the manufacturer provides a secure erase or drive removal option. If it handled anything sensitive, physical destruction of that drive is the defensible choice. Full data-wiping guide.
Monitors: two very different problems
Old CRT monitors
The deep, heavy ones. A 17-inch CRT can weigh 15–20kg, and the screen contains leaded glass — a genuine hazard if it goes to landfill. They have no resale value, some drop-off points restrict them, and they're awkward and dangerous to carry.
If you've got several — which is typical of a storeroom nobody has touched in fifteen years — a pickup is the sensible answer.
Flat panels
Lighter, but fragile. Older LCD backlights can contain small amounts of mercury. Working panels under about six years old still have modest resale value; dead or cracked ones are straight recycling.
Carry them upright, hands at the bottom corners — held flat by one edge, a large panel flexes and cracks.
Why they pile up
Neither item is quite big enough to force a decision, and neither is small enough to throw away. So a monitor goes under a desk, a printer goes on a shelf in the garage, and five years later there are four of each.
The practical advice is to deal with them as a group rather than individually. One collection for the whole accumulated pile is far less effort than five separate trips to a drop-off point, and it's cheaper per item.
Your options
- Council e-waste drop-off — free for residents, but you transport it and there may be quantity limits. Workable for one flat panel; not for four CRTs.
- Retailer take-back — several retailers accept small IT and printer cartridges free of charge.
- Sell or give away — only for working flat panels under about six years old.
- Book a collection — for a pile or for CRTs. Recycle Corp collects from the kerbside only; arrange for items to be placed outside before pickup.
Don't forget the cartridges
Ink and toner cartridges have their own recycling programs, and drop-off boxes are widely available at office supply retailers. They shouldn't go in a bin — toner in particular is a fine powder that shouldn't enter the waste stream.
What happens at the recycler
Both are dismantled and streamed. Circuit boards go for precious metal recovery, steel and aluminium from frames and casings are recovered, copper comes from wiring and printer motors, plastics are sorted where they can be reprocessed, and the hazardous components — leaded CRT glass, mercury backlights, residual toner — are handled separately. More on what's inside.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put a monitor in the bin?
You shouldn't. NSW doesn't have a statewide ban on binning e-waste (Victoria does), but monitors shouldn't go in any household bin — they can be recycled for free through the national TV and computer recycling scheme. What the NSW rules actually say.
Do you take old CRT monitors?
Yes, and they're one of the more common things we're called for. Tell us how many and the kerbside collection location. Arrange suitable help separately to get heavy items outside before collection.
Does my home printer really store documents?
Many do. Run a factory reset regardless — at minimum it clears the Wi-Fi credentials.
Should I take the cartridges out first?
Yes, and drop them at a cartridge recycling point — they have their own stream.
Book an e-waste pickup
Collections run Monday to Friday, 6am–4pm, from the kerbside only.