TV and electronics disposal in Virginia Beach and the 757

The short answer

In Virginia Beach, computer towers are on the bulky pickup's not-eligible list, but residents can drop TVs, computers and monitors free at the Resource Recovery Center, Tuesday to Saturday. In Norfolk, all e-waste goes to the SPSA Norfolk Transfer Station on Woodland Avenue, Tuesdays and Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m., five items a visit. For a pickup from inside the house, a box of electronics is $77, a desktop tower $62, a monitor $58 and a home printer $58, with a $100 order minimum.

Why electronics get their own rules

Electronics contain metals worth recovering and materials that shouldn't be crushed in a garbage truck. Screens, circuit boards and batteries are better recycled than buried. That's why cities send them to separate drop-offs instead of curbside bulk.

There's also your data. A computer tower, a laptop or an old phone holds photos, tax returns, passwords and work files. In a region where so many households have military or defense-industry jobs, that matters even more. Treat every storage device as sensitive before it leaves the house.

Batteries are a third concern. Lithium batteries in laptops, power tools, e-bikes and scooters can catch fire if crushed. Don't throw them in a trash can. Take them out where you can and handle them separately, or tell your hauler they're there.

And e-waste accumulates. A Navy family moving every few years leaves a trail of old routers, cables, printers and monitors. A box in the closet becomes three boxes.

Virginia Beach: what the city takes and where

Bulky pickup: computer towers are explicitly not eligible. Neither are bagged items, so a trash bag of cables won't go either. Check the city's page for other electronics before you set them out.

Resource Recovery Center: 1989 Jake Sears Road takes e-waste free from residents with proof of residency, including TVs, computers and monitors. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This is the best free option in the region for Virginia Beach households. Load the car, bring your ID, and drive in. Pack screens flat and padded, and keep cables in a box so nothing tangles.

If you're in Great Neck or the Oceanfront and the center is a long drive, bundle your trips. Collect everything first, then go once.

Norfolk, Chesapeake and Currituck

Norfolk handles e-waste by drop-off only at the SPSA Norfolk Transfer Station, 3136 Woodland Avenue. It's open Tuesdays and Saturdays, noon to 4 p.m. The limit is five items per visit, in a personal vehicle, and commercial e-waste isn't accepted. A home office clean-out with a tower, two monitors, a printer, a scanner and a speaker set is already over the limit for one trip.

Chesapeake: check the city's Waste Management Division page for electronics handling.

Currituck County, NC: convenience centers in Moyock and Knotts Island accept TVs and computers from residents with a County Access Permit.

Businesses: SPSA charges a per-unit fee for commercial e-waste. Offices along Greenbrier Parkway or in Town Center can't use resident drop-offs for company equipment.

Wipe your data first

1. Back up what you want to keep, to an external drive or a cloud account.
2. Sign out of accounts: email, cloud storage, app stores, password managers.
3. Factory reset phones, tablets and laptops using the built-in reset option.
4. For desktop towers, consider pulling the hard drive or SSD. It usually takes a screwdriver and five minutes. Keep it, or destroy it yourself.
5. Printers and copiers may store scanned documents. Check the settings for a reset or wipe option.
6. Smart TVs hold streaming logins. Reset to factory settings before it goes.

If you're clearing a home office or a work-from-home setup tied to a base or contractor job, check whether your employer has its own disposal process. Some devices aren't yours to throw out.

Flat electronics prices

A home office in a Kempsville spare room: tower, two monitors and a printer. $62 + $58 + $58 + $58 = $236. A closet of cables, routers and old phones in two boxes: $77 + $77 = $154.

A single tower is $62, billed at the $100 minimum. Electronics ride along with furniture on the same visit at their listed prices.

When to drive it and when to book it

Drive it if you're a Virginia Beach resident, the items fit your car, and you can go Tuesday to Saturday. The Resource Recovery Center is free and the most practical option.

Drive it in Norfolk if you have five items or fewer and a free Tuesday or Saturday afternoon.

Book it if you have more than a carload, you're in a building without easy parking such as Downtown Norfolk or an Oceanfront tower, or you're clearing a whole house and electronics are just one part of it. Same-day pickup is available when you book by 4 p.m.

Either way, wipe your data first. Neither the city nor a hauler can do that part for you.

Frequently asked questions