The short answer
| Size | Flat price |
|---|---|
| TV (under 42 inches) | $62 |
| TV (42 to 65 inches) | $68 |
| TV (65 inches and up) | $73 |
| Entertainment Center / TV Stand | $96 |
| Computer Monitor | $58 |
The minimum per visit is $75, so a single TV on its own is a $75 visit. Two together get you past it: TV (42 to 65 inches) $68 + TV (under 42 inches) $62 = $130.
Why you cannot just bin it
Televisions and monitors are classed as electronic waste in California and are handled through dedicated channels, not household collection. That applies to a 2008 plasma, a 1996 tube set and last year's smart panel with a cracked screen alike.
The reason is what is inside them. Older sets contain leaded glass and other materials that should not enter a general landfill stream. Newer panels contain recoverable metals, boards and backlight assemblies. Both are worth separating and neither belongs in a bin.
Practically, this means the two routes most people reach for first, the household bin and the alley behind the house, are both closed.
Why nobody wants your old TV
People hold onto a working television for months because it feels wasteful to throw one out. Here is the honest position.
- Charities. Most will not accept televisions at all, and none will accept a CRT.
- Selling. The second-hand market for anything below current spec is close to nothing, because new panels are cheap. Listing a five-year-old 50-inch will cost you two weeks and get you no viewings.
- Giving it away. Works occasionally, but the person has to collect it, and a 65-inch panel needs two people and a vehicle.
- The garage. This is where they go, and this is the mistake. An old set stored in a Sacramento garage through a triple-digit summer is not a working set any more. The heat finishes off capacitors and backlight drivers, and the option you were preserving quietly expires.
If you are not using it now, the realistic outcomes are recycling today or recycling in three years after a summer in the garage. The price is the same.
CRTs are the hard ones
The tube TV at the back of the garage is the single most awkward item in this article. It is heavier than a flat panel twice its size, it contains leaded glass, and the number of places that will take one is small.
Do not break one. Do not leave one at a strip or in an alley in Midtown or Oak Park expecting a scrapper to take it, because they will not, and it will stay there with your address attached to it.
A CRT under 42 inches prices exactly the same as a flat panel of the same size, $62. It just needs two people to lift, which is included.
Wall mounts, and getting it down
A wall-mounted TV needs lifting off the bracket by two people, and on a big panel the bracket is often above head height over a fireplace, which is where a lot of them end up in the newer builds in Natomas, Elk Grove and Folsom.
Leave it on the wall if you are not confident. Taking it down is included in the price. Tell us when you book so the crew knows.
Decide in advance whether the bracket stays. If you want it off the wall as well, say so, and be aware there will be anchor holes in the drywall behind it, which is worth knowing before a rental walkthrough rather than during one.
In an older grid house with lath and plaster, a mount is usually through into a stud and the holes are larger than in drywall. Same advice, more patching.
Wipe it before it leaves
Recycling is a materials process, not a data service. A smart TV holds your streaming logins, your account credentials and often your WiFi password.
- Sign out of every app individually, then run a factory reset.
- Do the same for any streaming stick or box that is going with it. A Box of Electronics is $77 if you are clearing a drawer of them.
- If the screen is broken and you cannot navigate the menus, remove the device from your accounts from another device instead, on each service.
Do this the night before, not while a crew waits in your driveway.
The upgrade cycle, and worked examples
Televisions turn over in this metro on a predictable rhythm: the run-up to the football season, the post-holiday weeks in January, and late May when student flats near Sac State empty out along Folsom Boulevard. If you are clearing one, you are not alone that two weeks.
Living room upgrade in Land Park. TV (42 to 65 inches) $68 + Entertainment Center / TV Stand $96 = $164.
Clearing the garage in Citrus Heights of two old sets and a monitor. TV (under 42 inches) $62 + TV (under 42 inches) $62 + Computer Monitor $58 = $182, which is under the quarter truck at $241, so $182 is the price.
Whole media wall going in Roseville. TV (65 inches and up) $73 + Entertainment Center / TV Stand $96 + Box of Electronics $77 = $246. Above $241, so it books at $241.
Booking it
Photograph the screen with something beside it for scale, say whether it is wall-mounted and which floor it is on. The total comes back before a truck leaves and covers taking it down, carrying it out, hauling and routing it into the e-waste stream.
No stair fee, which matters if it is a 65-inch panel going down a Midtown staircase.
Frequently asked questions
How much does TV removal cost in Sacramento?
$62 under 42 inches, $68 from 42 to 65 inches and $73 above 65. A single TV alone falls under the $75 per-visit minimum, so that visit is $75.
Can I put a TV in my household bin?
No. Televisions are electronic waste in California and are handled through dedicated channels, not household collection.
Will you take an old tube TV?
Yes. Same price as a flat panel of the same size, and the crew brings two people because of the weight.
Can you take it off the wall?
Yes, and it is included. Leave it mounted if you are not confident, and tell us when you book. Decide in advance whether the bracket goes too.
Do you wipe my data?
No. Sign out of your apps and factory reset the set the night before. Recycling handles materials, not accounts.
What about a broken screen?
Same price by size. A cracked panel is still e-waste and still gets processed the same way. Remove the TV from your accounts from another device.