Working TV → donate it. Dead TV → free county drop-off.
California classifies every TV and monitor as hazardous e-waste — the screens are legally banned from landfills, so trash carts and “leave it by the dumpster” are both out. Kern County makes the right way easy and free.
Sign out before it leaves the house
A smart TV remembers your streaming logins and your Wi-Fi password. Run a factory reset first: Settings → General or Support → Reset / Reset to Initial Settings. Two minutes, and your accounts leave with you instead of with the TV.
Still works? Donate it
Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul and BARC all take TVs in the Bakersfield area — and state-approved locations accept non-working TVs for recycling too. Call the specific location first; drop-off rules vary by site and day. A working flat screen is one of the most-wanted donations there is.
Dead? Take it to a county facility — free
TVs and monitors are “Covered Electronic Waste,” accepted at no charge at Kern County disposal sites and Special Waste Facilities. Check KernPublicWorks.com for the current list of locations and hours before you load the truck.
Haul it safely
Flat screens travel upright, not flat — laying a large panel down across a truck bed is how screens crack on the last day of their life. Blanket under the bottom edge, strap it vertically against the cab or side wall, and lift with two people past 55 inches.
Mounted on the wall? Get it down properly first
A mounted TV comes off its bracket with a specific release (clips, pull-strings or safety screws, depending on the mount) — forcing it bends the mount or drops the TV. If you’d rather not wrestle it, we dismount TVs all over Bakersfield: off the wall safely, holes patched flush, hardware bagged.
Why you can’t just trash it
Old tube TVs carry several pounds of lead in the glass; flat panels carry their own cocktail of heavy metals and, in older LCDs, mercury-bearing backlights. California decided decades ago that none of that belongs in a landfill, which is why screens are singled out by law — and why the state built a funded program (you pay a small recycling fee when you buy a screen in California) that makes disposal free at the end of the road.
So the system is already paid for — using it costs you nothing but the drive. The one thing it cannot absorb is a TV dumped in an alley or an orchard row, which around here is also a ticketable offense. Free drop-off beats a fine every time.
Upgrading? Time the whole swap in one visit
If a new TV is the reason the old one is leaving, the tidy move is one appointment: old TV off the wall, holes patched, new TV mounted with the wires hidden — and the old panel standing by the door, factory-reset and ready for the drop-off run. That is a normal mounting visit for us, and November and December are exactly when we do the most of them. New-TV day checklist, settings and all: right here.
Did this guide help?
One tap, no sign-up — it tells us which guides to improve and shows the next reader what worked.
We handle the wall end of it
Dismounting, patching, remounting the new one, wires hidden — one visit, done right. Call or text a photo of the setup and we will quote it on the spot.
Call 661-412-4308 Text us a photo
More guides: New TV setup checklist · TV dismounting service · What size TV to buy
Quick answers
Can I put a TV in my trash or blue recycling cart?
No. TVs and monitors are hazardous e-waste under California law — the screens contain materials that are banned from landfills, so they cannot go in any curbside cart. The good news: dropping them off is free in Kern County.
Does it really cost nothing?
TVs, computer monitors and other devices with screens are "Covered Electronic Waste" — Kern County accepts them at NO CHARGE at its disposal sites and Special Waste Facilities. Some other electronics (CPUs, VCRs, stereos, copiers) can carry a fee, but the TV itself is free. Current locations are listed at KernPublicWorks.com.
The TV still works — should I still recycle it?
Donate it instead. Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul and BARC accept TVs in the Bakersfield area — and most accept non-working ones for recycling too. A working flat screen is genuinely useful to someone; call the location first to confirm they take TVs that day.
Do I need to do anything to a smart TV before handing it over?
Yes — factory reset it. A smart TV holds your Netflix, Amazon and Google logins and your Wi-Fi password. Settings → General/Support → Reset (the menu name varies) wipes it in two minutes. Do this for donations, sales and recycling alike.
Will anyone come get it?
Some thrift organizations schedule donation pickups for larger items, and private junk haulers will take e-waste for a fee. If the TV is wall-mounted, we dismount it safely and patch the wall — and we can point you to the nearest free drop-off while we're there.