Last Revised: October 10, 2025
Electronic equipment that is broken or obsolete must be properly disposed or sent for recycling. DO NOT PLACE ANY ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT IN THE TRASH, EVEN IF IT IS BROKEN.
On January 24, 2013 the PA Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) banned most electronic equipment from disposal in the regular the trash. This regulation is titled The Covered Device Recycling Act of 2010.
Electronic equipment may contain heavy metals and other materials that can be hazardous to human health and the environment. Computers and electronic equipment typically contain:
- Lead - Computer monitors contain a picture tube known as a cathode ray tube (CRT). CRT's contain leaded glass, and are the largest source of lead in municipal waste. Solder used in printed circuit boards may also contain lead.
- Cadmium - The largest source of cadmium in municipal waste is rechargeable nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries. These batteries are found in most desktop and laptop computers.
- Mercury - Some electronic equipment also contains recoverable quantities of mercury, which is a toxic metal.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers some discarded electronic equipment as characteristic hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Unwanted electronic equipment must therefore either be donated for reuse or sent for recycling.
Penn Computing provides recommendations for preparing equipment for recycling or disposal including the removal of sensitive data and commercial software from the machines.
Please contact your school's or center's computing services group prior to donating, recycling or disposing of any equipment.
Computer and electronic equipment that cannot be donated must be sent to an electronics recycler. eForce and Elemental Inc., are both locally operated approved University vendors. These vendors will pick up all types of computer and electronic equipment.
For questions regarding this program, please contact Jim Crumley at the Office of Environmental Health and Radiation Safety (EHRS), 215-746-5036.
Penn has the following options for battery recycling/disposal and note that batteries from home/personal equipment should be managed separately.
EHRS will collect used batteries* for recycling only from university research laboratories. To request a pickup of used batteries you may submit an online waste pickup request form at Chemical Waste Pickup Request Form
Batteries should be managed as follows while being collected/stored in the laboratory:
- Manage batteries* as a chemical waste in a Satellite Accumulation Area (SAA) with proper labeling, being sure to keep any incompatibles (flammables/oxidizers) in an alternate SAA within your lab space
- Terminals must be covered with non-conductive electrical tape or packaged so opposing terminals cannot interact or discharge
- Do not comingle different battery types in a single receptacle (clear plastic bag)
- Request a pickup within 1-year
* Standard Alkaline batteries can be discarded in the regular trash. All other battery types can be collected for EHRS pickup. For fabricated batteries, EHRS will likely need additional details to safely handle and ship for disposal.
Batteries from other non-research schools/centers departments, check the Penn Sustainability - Specialty Recycling Collections Map to locate a drop off location.
If your building/School does not have a drop-off location, additional options are below:
1. eForce Recycling. This vendor can provide your building with a battery recycling tube at a one-time cost. When the tube is around 80% full, please submit a work order request through the FRES website for the Urban Park team to service the battery cylinder.
2. Sign up with "Call2Recycle" or “Terracycle” to obtain a pre-paid container, that can be used as a collection box and gets shipped back when filled.