Electronics recycling in Topeka, Lawrence, and Manhattan, KS

Topeka and Shawnee County

Topeka has the easiest setup in the area. The county's Household Hazardous Waste facility takes electronics year-round.

The county's rule of thumb, from its director: if it has a cord, you can bring it. That covers computers, laptops, printers, flat-screen TVs, monitors, phones, game consoles, and small appliances. The exception is anything with refrigerant in it, like a fridge, freezer, or window air conditioner. Those go through a different process.

A "CRT" is the old, deep, heavy kind of TV or monitor with a picture tube. They're full of leaded glass, which is why they cost money to recycle nearly everywhere. If your TV is flat, it's not a CRT.

If you live outside Shawnee County, call before you go and ask whether they'll take your load.

Lawrence and Douglas County

Lawrence works differently. The city's Household Hazardous Waste facility doesn't take electronics. Instead, there's one electronics recycling event a year for Douglas County residents.

• 2026 event: Saturday, August 8, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, 2120 Harper St. That one's done, so watch the City of Lawrence Solid Waste site for the next date, or call 785-832-3032.
• What they take: anything with a cord.
• Fees: $40 for CRT TVs and monitors and projection TVs, $10 for LCD TVs and monitors. Cash, PayPal, or Venmo only.
• Not accepted: VHS tapes, CDs and DVDs, vapes, smoke detectors, thermometers, light bulbs, household batteries, large appliances, and anything with Freon.

Between events, the Best Buy at 2020 W 31st St in Lawrence is the easiest option. See the store programs below.

Manhattan and Riley County

The Riley County Household Hazardous Waste facility on Tuttle Creek Boulevard doesn't accept electronics, and I couldn't find a city or county e-waste program. For most people in Manhattan, the answer is the Best Buy at 329 Tuttle Creek Blvd.

If you know of a local option I missed, tell me and I'll check it out and add it.

Emporia

The Emporia recycling center on W South Ave doesn't take electronics. The city suggests donating working items to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. For broken electronics, a store program is the practical choice, or the Topeka drop-off if you're making the trip anyway (call first, since you're outside Shawnee County).

Best Buy and Staples

These work anywhere, and they're the fallback when your county doesn't have a program.

Best Buy has stores in Topeka (1600 SW Wanamaker Rd), Lawrence (2020 W 31st St), and Manhattan (329 Tuttle Creek Blvd).

• Most electronics are free, no matter where you bought them: computers, laptops, printers, phones, cables, and so on.
• Limit of 10 items per household per day.
• TVs and monitors cost $29.99 each, limit two per day. Best Buy-branded ones 50 inches or smaller are free.

Staples takes computers, laptops, printers, and other office electronics for free, any brand, no purchase needed, up to 7 items per day. It doesn't take TVs, big servers, floor copiers, or appliances. Not every store participates, so check the Staples store locator or call your local store first.

For a Topeka resident with a flat-screen TV, the county facility (free) beats Best Buy ($29.99). For a laptop, either one is free, so go with whichever is closer.

All the options side by side

Before you drop anything off

1. Get your files off. My backup and transfer guide covers what to save, including the stuff people forget.
2. Wipe the drive. Recycling doesn't mean anyone is erasing your data for you. Here's how to wipe a PC the right way, including what to do if it won't turn on.
3. Pull out anything that's yours: USB drives, SD cards, discs in the tray.
4. Ask yourself if it still works. A working PC from the last several years might be worth upgrading or passing on. My speed-up guide can help you decide, and a charity will usually take a working laptop.
5. Tape the terminals on loose batteries, or leave laptop batteries in the laptop. Damaged lithium batteries can start fires in a load of scrap.

Hard drive and data destruction for businesses

Most of what I pick up around Topeka is business equipment: old servers, network switches, and other power-hungry enterprise gear. I break it down myself. Scrap metal goes to local recyclers, and the boards, memory, and processors go to a specialist that recovers them.

Every hard drive and SSD I take gets wiped to the NIST 800-88 standard, the one businesses and recyclers follow. I can give you a certificate of destruction if you need one. If you're clearing out an office or a server closet in the Topeka area, get in touch.

Whoever you use, ask how they handle drives: wiped or shredded, which standard, and whether you'll get a certificate with serial numbers. A good recycler will answer without hesitating. My plain-English explanation of NIST 800-88 covers what those answers mean.