Where can I dispose of electronic waste in Maine?

If you’re anything like me, you have a junk drawer at home full of old and broken electronics — a smartphone with unreliable wiring, a childhood MP3 player or plenty of frayed and fried chargers. You may have wondered what to do with this old stuff besides letting it sit in a dusty desk drawer for eternity. In Maine, you have a few options for tackling electronic waste like an old phone, and there are some rules you need to know. 

You can’t throw electronic waste in the regular trash or recycling. 

It’s illegal to dispose of some electronics through your regular trash or recycling in Maine. Under the state’s CRT Disposal Prohibition law, you can’t dispose of devices with cathode ray tubes (including TVs, laptops, and more) into solid waste disposal systems. Cell phones also are illegal to dispose of in this way. 

Even if the state hasn’t specifically banned disposing of a device, it’s a bad idea to put any electronics in the trash. Electronic waste (e-waste) contains toxic chemicals and materials that can damage human health and the environment if not handled responsibly. The lithium ion batteries found in most electronics can cause fires if not disposed of properly. 

Here is how you can dispose of those things properly in Maine: 

Option #1: Sell, donate or repair your old electronics

We could avoid that old phone going to waste at all, if we just kept it in use for longer. If your phone is old, but still functioning, its lifespan may not yet be close to over. You can trade in older electronics to retailers like Gazelle or Back Market for credit or cash. If you would prefer to donate them to people who might need them, groups such as Maine-based Give IT get IT are committed to refurbishing, repairing or repurposing old electronics for continued and future use. Computers with Causes also accepts computer donations. 

Another option is a repair cafe. Repair cafes are community events where people come together to help each other fix their things. If you have an issue with your old electronics you can’t solve, maybe someone else can! The Maine Center for Sustainability hosts these events. You can check its postings or this guide here for the next event. Belfast Community Works and Bangor Makerspace also host repair cafes regularly.

Option #2: Recycling and Disposal

Under Maine law, electronics should be (and in some cases are required to be) disposed of through “safe and environmentally sound” procedures. Fortunately, Mainers have several options for correct processing.

For example, any retailer that sells cell phones is required to accept used cell phones for recycling at no cost to the customer. Many municipal transfer stations (town-run facilities where waste is stored and sorted before being brought to recycling centers or landfills) as well as many Best Buy and Staples locations, will accept other kinds of used electronics. Goodwill accepts donations of used computer equipment. 

Maine’s producer responsibility law means that TVs, computers, DVD players and more must be recycled – and your local government should ensure that you have somewhere to bring these devices for recycling. You can use this map from the Department of Environmental Protection to find the nearest electronics recycling location to you, including retailers and transfer stations as mentioned above. 

Appliances are not covered under this law – but they should still be brought to a transfer station to ensure proper disposal. This list contains all municipal transfer stations that collect electronic waste.

Option 3: Pass the Right to Repair! 

One thing preventing us from keeping our devices in use is that manufacturers don’t make it easy for us to repair them. Manufacturers often restrict access to the parts, tools and information we need to fix our broken electronic devices, forcing us to replace them rather than repair them to prolong their lifespan. 

The solution is the Right to Repair: legislation that requires manufacturers to provide us with the things we need to fix our products. Legislation of this sort has passed in five states across the country, and passed the Maine Senate last year. In Maine, voters passed legislation like this for cars via a ballot measure last year, with an 84% approval rate. It’s time to bring the Right to Repair to all the other devices we use every day.