San Antonio E-Waste Disposal: No Curbside Pickup

Item: Electronic waste — televisions, monitors, computers, laptops, tablets, printers and peripherals, mobile phones, cords and cables, battery-operated devices and other household consumer electronics Jurisdiction: San Antonio, Texas — City of San Antonio Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) service area, Bexar County. Eligibility runs on a CPS Energy bill showing payment of the Environmental Fee, not on living inside the city limits Official sources: City of San Antonio SWMD (Household Hazardous Waste, HHW Monthly, HHW Quarterly, Curbside Brush & Bulky, Bulky Waste Collection Centers, Curbside Recycling, Curbside Garbage, Rates & Fees, Multi-Family Recycling, Community Collections), City drop-off centers handout (PDF), SWMD Services Guide (PDF), City news release, SA Recycles, TCEQ Electronics Recycling, Bexar County, Goodwill San Antonio, Best Buy Last verified: September 2026 · Next review: December 2026

Quick answer

San Antonio does not pick up electronics curbside, and no cart will take them. E-waste is Household Hazardous Waste: the City states HHW "should never be placed inside any cart for curbside collection and always brought to HHW Drop-Off Centers," and its material look-up adds that "All electronic devices must go to the HHW drop of[f] center and never in any of the curbside carts. Their batteries are extremely dangerous."

Your free routes:

1. The permanent HHW Drop-Off Center at 7030 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238 — Tuesday–Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.–12 p.m., closed Sunday, Monday and holidays.
2. A monthly HHW drop-off at Bitters, 1800 Wurzbach Parkway, 78216 — 8 a.m.–12 p.m. on the event day. Enter from Jones Maltsberger and Wurzbach Parkway.
3. An HHW drop-off at 2755 Rigsby Avenue, 78222 — 8 a.m.–12 p.m. on the dates the City lists.

All three require the same proof: a recent CPS Energy bill showing payment of the Environmental Fee, plus picture ID. No dates are printed in this guide on purpose — the City's own pages disagree on the event cadence, and a stale date means a locked gate.

Wrong doors: the blue recycling cart, the brown trash cart and your apartment dumpster.

Working or data-bearing devices: Goodwill San Antonio takes them free — computers, tablets, phones or any data-bearing device, in any condition — with no CPS Energy bill needed.

Quick facts

Why San Antonio electronics never go in a cart

The City rules it out rather than discouraging it. Both carts are closed to electronics. The blue cart takes paper, plastic containers, metal cans and glass, and lists household hazardous waste as unaccepted; wrong items draw a $25 contamination fee, or $50 where diapers are involved, billed through CPS Energy. The brown cart is "for regular household trash only" and prohibits batteries, hazardous waste such as paint, motor oil or household cleaners, and medicine — all routed to HHW.

There is no City electronics pickup of any kind: nothing to book, no truck that collects a TV from a driveway. Any listing offering a City e-waste pickup contradicts the City's own pages. The pickups that exist are commercial services you book and pay for, plus the county program for unincorporated residents covered below.

Embedded device batteries are the reason for the ban. Handle old lithium and other batteries carefully in the load, and keep them from shorting against metal or each other while you transport them.

The primary free route: 7030 Culebra Road

• Address: 7030 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238
• Hours: Tuesday–Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m.–12 p.m.
• Closed: Sunday, Monday and holidays
• Bring: recent CPS Energy bill showing the Environmental Fee, plus picture ID

"E-waste" is named on the HHW accepted-materials list, alongside auto fluids, batteries, cooking oil, fluorescent light fixtures and ballasts, household cleaners and solvents, lacquer, shellac and furniture polish, oil filters, paint, pesticides, pool chemicals and printer cartridges. The services guide narrows it to "E-waste (household electronics)."

Two limits to know before you load the car. The City publishes the category generically and itemises no televisions, monitors, printers or appliances, with no size or CRT rule — confirm a specific device at 3-1-1 rather than assuming. And the same address also hosts the Culebra Bulky Waste Collection Center, a different lane whose accepted list does not name electronics.

The monthly Bitters drop-off and the Rigsby Avenue drop-off

Both are the same free HHW program, for readers who cannot reach Culebra on a weekday.

Monthly — Bitters, 1800 Wurzbach Parkway, 78216, 8 a.m.–12 p.m., listed as free. The seasonal pattern: September–February, the first Saturday of the month; March–August, the first Friday and the next-day Saturday; postponed one week in case of a holiday. Enter from Jones Maltsberger and Wurzbach Parkway.

Event — 2755 Rigsby Avenue, 78222, 8 a.m.–12 p.m. on the dates the City lists.

Caution: City pages do not describe the cadence identically — one is framed as quarterly, and the drop-off-centers handout still says events are held three times a year — and the published listings stop well before the end of the calendar, so last year's date proves nothing about this month. Check the live City HHW pages or call 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000. No dates appear in this guide for that reason.

What the "Bitters recycling center" actually is

1800 Wurzbach Parkway hosts three services at one address:

1. Bitters Brush Recycling Center — brush and leaves only, fees apply, open daily.
2. Bitters Bulky Waste Collection Center — bulky items, no fee to rate payers, Tue–Fri 8 a.m.–5 p.m., Sat 8 a.m.–12 p.m.
3. The monthly HHW drop-off — the lane that handles electronics, 8 a.m.–12 p.m. on the event day.

Only the third is the published e-waste route. Electronics are not named on the bulky centers' accepted list, so arriving with a TV expecting that lane to take it is the most common wasted trip. Bring ID and a recent CPS Energy bill for any lane.

Eligibility and proof: the CPS Energy bill rule

"A recent CPS Energy bill showing payment of the Environmental Fee and picture ID are required," the HHW page states. City news releases call the events "open only to Solid Waste Management customers," requiring "a valid picture ID and a copy of the most recent CPS Energy bill." Bulky centers apply the same rule.

Eligibility is tied to Solid Waste Management service, not to living inside the city limits. The Environmental Fee is the $3.00 solid waste plus $2.00 parks charge billed on top of the cart rate ($14.76 for 48 gallons, $20.26 for 64, $30.75 for 96) — your proof of eligibility, not a disposal charge. This is a residential program: business and commercial customers are not served, and Best Buy refuses business items too.

Renters. If the CPS Energy account is in the landlord's or property manager's name, you may hold no bill showing the Environmental Fee, and no City page states what alternative proof is accepted. Call 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000 before loading the car, and use a non-City route if the answer is no.

Where the City routes stop. Independent Bexar County cities — Alamo Heights, Converse, Helotes, Kirby, Leon Valley, Live Oak, Schertz, Selma, Universal City, Windcrest and others — run their own programs. Unincorporated Bexar County has a separate county option, described below.

What HHW takes and what it never takes

Accepted: e-waste (household electronics), batteries, fluorescent light fixtures and ballasts, printer cartridges, paint, household cleaners and solvents, lacquer, shellac and furniture polish, oil filters, auto fluids, cooking oil, pesticides and pool chemicals.

Never accepted: household garbage or trash, ammunition or fireworks, commercial or medical waste, and medicine — medication routes to saws.org/meddropsa. Do not slip medicine into a load; it will be refused.

Because the City lists "E-waste" generically and does not itemise devices, acceptance of a specific television, monitor, printer or appliance should be confirmed at 3-1-1 before the trip.

Prep, limits and transport rules

• Keep contents in the original container; if one is leaking, transfer the contents to a leak-proof or lined cardboard box.
• Do not mix different materials in the same container or bag.
• Place all items in a box in the trunk or truck bed; a technician unloads them and returns your containers on request. Anything in a non-approved container will not be returned.
• Liquid limit: paint and other liquid waste, five 5-gallon cans or 25 1-gallon cans. Total HHW limit: 220 pounds.

Do the data work first. TCEQ states "Remember to delete any private information from hard drives before donating, reselling, or recycling computers." Goodwill clears data on the devices it accepts using NAIP-certified tools and NIST SP 800-88 procedures, but that protection covers only devices that reach Goodwill. For phones, remove the SIM card and shred or cut it in half, and bag a physically damaged phone.

Check the calendar before driving: Culebra runs Tuesday to Saturday only, and the event sites run 8 a.m.–12 p.m. on listed days. A Monday, Sunday or holiday visit means a closed gate.

Curbside reality check: what the twice-yearly bulky collection does and does not take

Curbside brush and bulky collection runs twice per year on a scheduled cycle. The bulky accepted list includes "TVs (up to 3)" with large appliances, mattresses, furniture, small pieces of carpeting, car tires (six or fewer, no rims), fencing, barbecue grills and water heaters. Household hazardous waste — the category that carries e-waste — is on the unaccepted list.

Read that exactly as written. It is a narrow TV allowance inside a bulky program, not an electronics channel: monitors, computers, laptops and printers are not covered, and the three-TV figure is published for the twice-yearly curbside collection only — not for the bulky drop-off centers and not for any other device.

Piles: no more than eight cubic yards, within eight feet of the curb, ready by 7 a.m. Monday of the collection week. Violations can draw a fine of up to $2,000 per day plus a collection and disposal fee; out-of-cycle collection costs $50 for one item or up to four cubic yards plus $25 for each additional four cubic yards.

The four bulky centers — Bitters (1800 Wurzbach Parkway), Frio City Road (1531 Frio City Road), Culebra (7030 Culebra Road) and Rigsby Road (2755 Rigsby Road) — take appliances, furniture, mattresses, tires, water heaters, sinks, tubs and counter tops and limited construction debris, free to rate payers. Electronics are not named, so use them for the fridge and the mattress in a separate trip. Dial-A-Trailer community collections (210-207-6428) have the same shape, with no electronics named.

Free non-City routes: Goodwill San Antonio and manufacturer take-back

Goodwill San Antonio. "Computers, tablets, phones or any data bearing device are accepted in any condition" at Donation Centers or through the free Home Pickup Service; data is cleared with NAIP-certified tools and NIST SP 800-88 procedures. It does not take batteries of any kind, CRT monitors and tube TVs, mattresses and box springs, baby furniture, construction material, guns and ammunition, or sleeper sofas. The City's material look-up names the route as well: "Some electronics can be recycled through Goodwill Industries."

Manufacturer take-back. Texas law requires television and computer-equipment manufacturers to offer recycling. TexasRecyclesComputers.org covers computers, TexasRecyclesTVs.org covers televisions, and the TCEQ computer list names Acer, Apple, ASUS, Dell/Alienware, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony and ViewSonic among others. TV take-back sits under 30 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 328, Subchapter J: listed manufacturers must offer collection free at the time of recycling, but a manufacturer that has met its market-share allocation may stop and is removed from the list — check your brand first.

The state office is clear about its role: "The TCEQ does not provide recycling services. Our program only assists with locating local recycling options." If a listed brand offers no free, convenient recycling, escalate at 512-239-3143 or recycle@tceq.texas.gov.

Retailer drop-off and published fees

Best Buy in store. "At most Best Buy stores, you can recycle up to three items per household per day." Free categories include computers, all-in-one computers, monitors (Insignia and Dynex 50 inches and smaller), printers and peripherals, mobile phones, cables, small appliances and video game gear; laptops are limited to five per household per day. TVs and monitors 50 inches and smaller carry $29.99 per item, two per household per day; larger TVs require haul-away at $49.99 with a delivered replacement product or $199.99 standalone. The program is "intended for residents only" — business items and anything presenting a health or safety hazard are refused.

Two caveats: Texas is not named among Best Buy's state-specific no-fee or gift-card states, so the $29.99 fee appears to apply but is inferred rather than stated for Texas — confirm at the store; and a lower section of the same page says up to 10 items per day, conflicting with the three-item headline.

Staples. Staples runs an in-store recycling page, but its item list, limits and fees are not published there in a checkable form. No Staples figure appears in this guide — ask at the store.

Renters, apartments and shared buildings

Apartment dwellers are not excluded from the City routes: eligibility runs on the CPS Energy bill plus picture ID, not on owning property. The obstacle is practical — if the account is in the landlord's or property manager's name, you may not hold a qualifying bill. Call 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000 first.

There is no apartment e-waste service. A City Council ordinance passed on December 9, 2010 requires multi-family properties such as apartments to provide recycling to occupants, with SWMD on-site compliance inspections. Owners and managers may use a hauler, self-haul to a certified materials recovery facility with an annual report due March 1, or — for properties with eight or fewer units — request and pay for City curbside recycling and garbage collection. The ordinance covers recyclables only and creates no electronics obligation.

So never leave electronics beside a dumpster, in a compactor, or in a shared trash area: the blue cart program refuses them, the City bans them from every cart, no City service collects from a dumpster, and shared areas expose your data.

Routes that work regardless of whose name is on the CPS account: Goodwill San Antonio, a TCEQ-listed manufacturer program for a covered computer or TV, and Best Buy in store for residents. If your building runs its own scrap collection, treat it as a private arrangement — the City publishes no multi-family e-waste service and no private hauler prices.

Which San Antonio e-waste route should you use?

Notes: the Environmental Fee on the CPS Energy bill is your eligibility proof, not a disposal charge. The "TVs (up to 3)" limit belongs only to the twice-yearly curbside bulky collection. No City page publishes an e-waste quantity limit specific to electronics, and no City e-waste fee exists to quote. Whichever route you pick, you wipe your own data — only Goodwill publishes a wiping process, for the devices it accepts.

Business and commercial e-waste is a different track

Every route here is a household route. The City HHW lane is residential, the events are open only to Solid Waste Management customers, and Best Buy refuses business and organisation items. No private recycler, ITAD or junk-removal price is published by the City — get quotes in writing.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Setting electronics out with the trash or recycling. Both carts exclude them; blue-cart contamination costs $25, or $50 with diapers.
2. Waiting for a City e-waste pickup. None exists, and no pile at the curb changes that.
3. Using the bulky week as an electronics channel. Only up to three TVs qualify there, and hazardous items in a pile can draw a fine of up to $2,000 per day plus a collection fee.
4. Driving e-waste to a bulky center. Electronics are not on the published accepted list.
5. Assuming a specific device is accepted at Culebra. The list says only "E-waste," with no device, size or CRT rule. Call 3-1-1.
6. Leaving without the CPS Energy bill, or guessing your renter status instead of asking 3-1-1.
7. Leaving electronics by an apartment dumpster, where no City service collects and your data is exposed.
8. Handing over an unwiped device. Data deletion is your responsibility.
9. Bringing medicine to an HHW event. It is refused and routes to saws.org/meddropsa.

Frequently asked questions

Can a small keyboard or radio go in the brown trash cart? No — the brown cart is for regular household trash only. Some look-up entries for small items have suggested otherwise, but the same tool states all electronic devices must go to the HHW drop-off center and never in any cart.

Can I put a TV out for a bulky collection? Only during the twice-yearly scheduled brush and bulky collection, where the accepted list includes TVs up to three. That does not apply to the bulky drop-off centers and does not cover monitors, computers or printers.

Does the City charge for electronics at HHW? The City describes the program as free to Solid Waste Management customers. Published charges in this space are Best Buy's retailer fees, the SWMD rate and Environmental Fee on your CPS Energy bill, and out-of-cycle collection fees.

Do I have to own my home? No. Eligibility is proven by the CPS Energy bill showing the Environmental Fee plus picture ID. A renter without such a bill in their own name should confirm accepted proof with 3-1-1 first.

What about a working laptop or phone? Donate or recycle it through Goodwill San Antonio — any data-bearing device, any condition, free — or use a manufacturer program for a covered brand. Wipe the drive and cut the SIM card first.

Where does medicine go? Not to HHW. It routes to saws.org/meddropsa.

Which Bitters site takes my TV? Only the monthly HHW drop-off lane, on the event day, 8 a.m.–12 p.m. The Bitters Brush Recycling Center takes brush and leaves, and the Bitters Bulky Waste Collection Center does not name electronics — so a TV brought to either of those lanes is a wasted trip.

Am I covered if I live outside the San Antonio city limits? Not by these routes. Independent Bexar County cities run their own programs, and Bexar County's free home pickup is for unincorporated county residents only — and it does not name electronics.

Contacts and official verification checklist

1. Confirm you are an SWMD customer: look for the Environmental Fee ($3.00 solid waste plus $2.00 parks) on a recent CPS Energy bill. Eligibility is service-based, not city-limits-based.
2. Stop waiting for a pickup: there is no City e-waste collection, and electronics must never go in either cart.
3. Plan the permanent center: 7030 Culebra Road, 78238, Tue–Fri 8 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sat 8 a.m.–12 p.m., closed Sunday, Monday and holidays. Bring the bill and picture ID.
4. Pack correctly: original containers, no mixing, boxed in the trunk or truck bed, five 5-gallon or 25 1-gallon liquid limit, 220-pound HHW limit.
5. Confirm the event date first: call 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000 or check the live City HHW pages for the current Bitters or Rigsby Avenue date.
6. Confirm your device with 3-1-1: the City lists "E-waste" generically and does not itemise devices.
7. Prefer donation: Goodwill San Antonio takes computers, tablets, phones or any data-bearing device in any condition, free.
8. Check the brand: TexasRecyclesTVs.org and TexasRecyclesComputers.org route you to manufacturer programs; escalate at 512-239-3143 or recycle@tceq.texas.gov if free, convenient recycling is not offered.
9. Confirm retailer terms in store: Best Buy takes three items per household per day, $29.99 for TVs and monitors 50 inches and smaller, residents only. Staples' terms are not published in a checkable form.
10. Renters: ask 3-1-1 which proof is accepted if the account is in the landlord's or property manager's name, then use Goodwill or a manufacturer program if the answer is no.
11. Outside the city: independent Bexar County cities run their own programs; unincorporated residents can schedule the free county home pickup at 1-800-449-7587 or wmatyourdoor.com, though electronics are not named on that list.
12. Wipe every device and cut the SIM card before any hand-off, and never route electronics to a cart or shared dumpster.
13. Re-verify before acting. A single HHW phone number, current event dates, the monthly-versus-quarterly cadence, device-level acceptance at Culebra, electronics at the bulky centers, renter alternative proof, Best Buy's Texas fee status and item limit, and Staples' terms are all unresolved or date-sensitive.

Contacts: 3-1-1 or 210-207-6000 (7 a.m.–7 p.m. daily; 8 a.m.–5 p.m. holidays); swmdinfo@sanantonio.gov; SWMD community collections 210-207-6428; TCEQ recycle@tceq.texas.gov or 512-239-3143; Bexar County 1-800-449-7587 (unincorporated residents only).

Sources

1. City of San Antonio SWMD — Household Hazardous Waste: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/HHW
2. City of San Antonio — HHW Monthly Drop-Off Events: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/HHW/Monthly
3. City of San Antonio — HHW Quarterly Drop-Off Events: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/HHW/Quarterly
4. City of San Antonio — Drop-Off Centers handout (PDF): https://www.sanantonio.gov/Portals/0/Files/SWMD/Events/Drop-Off-Centers.pdf
5. City of San Antonio — Services Guide (PDF): https://www.sa.gov/files/assets/main/v/1/swmd/documents/servicesguideen.pdf
6. City of San Antonio — HHW event news release: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/News-Releases/Solid-Waste-Management-Holds-Household-Hazardous-Waste-Event
7. City of San Antonio — Curbside Brush & Bulky: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Brush-Bulky/Curbside
8. City of San Antonio — Bulky Waste Collection Centers: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Brush-Bulky/Bulky-Drop-Off
9. City of San Antonio — Curbside Recycling: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Recycling-Organics/Recycling
10. City of San Antonio — Curbside Garbage: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Garbage/Curbside
11. City of San Antonio — Rates & Fees: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Curbside-Service/Rates-Fees
12. City of San Antonio — Multi-Family Recycling: https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Business-Commercial/Multi-Family-Recycling
13. City of San Antonio — Community Collections (Dial-A-Trailer): https://www.sa.gov/Directory/Departments/SWMD/Special/Community-Collections
14. SA Recycles — HHW Drop-Off Centers: https://sarecycles.org/services/drop-off-centers/household-hazardous-waste-drop-off-centers
15. SA Recycles — material disposal look-up: https://sarecycles.org/search-material-disposal
16. TCEQ — Electronics Recycling: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/p2/recycle/electronics
17. TCEQ — Texas Recycles Computers manufacturer list: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/p2/recycle/electronics/manufacturer-list.html
18. TCEQ — Texas Recycles TVs: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/p2/recycle/electronics/tv_recycling.html
19. Bexar County — HHW Pickup Program: https://www.bexar.org/533/Household-Hazardous-Waste-Pickup-Program
20. Goodwill San Antonio — store policies: https://goodwillsa.org/shop/store-policies
21. Best Buy — electronics and e-waste recycling: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/services/recycling/pcmcat149900050025.c?id=pcmcat149900050025
22. Staples — in-store recycling (terms not published in a checkable form): https://www.staples.com/stores/recycling

Verify before you act. Addresses, hours, holiday closures, accepted items, event cadence and retailer terms change, and the City's event listings are date-sensitive. Confirm the current date and your device with SWMD at 3-1-1 / 210-207-6000 or swmdinfo@sanantonio.gov before you load a vehicle. This guide covers the City of San Antonio SWMD service area: eligibility runs on a CPS Energy bill showing the Environmental Fee rather than on city limits, independent Bexar County cities run their own programs, and Bexar County's free home pickup is for unincorporated county residents only.