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Student eCycling

There are many environmentally friendly ways to dispose of electronics.

Type of Electronic Equipment

Working computers less than 5 years old

Consider donating your computer to:

  • Schools or a non-profit group.
  • Commercial businesses or groups.

Visit the  for donation tips and information.

Broken, old or outdated computers and other electronic equipment

The following items are banned from Illinois landfills and should not be put in the garbage: 

  • Desktop or laptop computers
  • Peripheral equipment, such as mice, keyboards and monitors
  • Scanners
  • Printers
  • Fax machines
  • Televisions
  • Microwaves
  • Speakers
  • Videocassette recorders 
  • DVD players
  • Portable digital music players
  • Video game consoles
  • Small-scale servers
  • Digital converter boxes
  • Cable and satellite receivers
  • CDs 
  • Magnetic tape

Drop-off locations:

  • If you live off-campus, see city of  or  locations.
  • If you live on campus, contact sustain NU sustainNU@northwestern.edu for options. 

Cell phones

Consider donating your cell phone.

 that accept cell phone donations. The  provides donated wireless phones to domestic violence agencies.

Additionally, most cellular carriers recycle or reuse donated phones. See your carrier's website for more information: