Retailer take-back programs in Oregon

Oregon E-Cycles collection sites take covered devices free. Some national retailers run their own recycling programs too — useful for things E-Cycles does not cover, such as phones, or simply because a store is closer. These are company programs with their own rules and fees; the summaries below come from each company's own pages as we read them in October 2026, and you should check the current page before you go. We have no commercial relationship with any of them.

What Oregon law asks of retailers

Oregon's law does not require stores to take electronics back. DEQ's retailer page lists three duties for anyone selling covered devices in or into Oregon, including online: give buyers information on where to find free recycling (on a website, receipt, display or handout), sell only brands on Oregon's compliant list, and make sure products carry a permanent, visible brand label.

Comparison

Best Buy

Best Buy's recycling page lists in-store drop-off for categories including TVs and home theater, computing and office, home appliances, cell phones, cameras, car electronics and video games. Most stores accept up to 10 items per household per day, with most categories capped at three; TVs and monitors are limited to two each per day and laptops to five. The page says recycling "is intended for residents only."

Fees: Best Buy-branded (Insignia and Dynex) TVs and monitors 50 inches and smaller are free; tube TVs 31 inches and smaller, portable TVs, flat-panel TVs 50 inches and smaller, and non-Best Buy monitors 50 inches and smaller cost $29.99 each. The page lists state exceptions for several states; Oregon is not among them. Best Buy does not take stand-alone batteries except in California and New York, CDs and DVDs, many small kitchen appliances, e-bikes and scooters, or vaping devices. It also offers paid haul-away and a mail-in option.

For a covered TV or monitor, an Oregon E-Cycles collection site is free for households under state law, so it may be worth checking the collection-site map first.

Apple

Apple Trade In is available on apple.com and in Apple Stores. Apple's page says that if a device isn't eligible for trade-in credit, "you can still recycle it with Apple for free," and that Apple Trade In lets you recycle any Apple device. Some third-party phones, such as Samsung and Google models, are eligible for trade-in. Apple asks you to back up, remove your data and turn off Find My first; Android users should sign out of their account. See how to wipe your devices.

Staples

Staples' tech recycling page carried a notice that the program "has been temporarily suspended" when we checked. The rest of that page describes earlier terms (free recycling of up to seven items per day, no televisions, rechargeable batteries through Call2Recycle), but we could not confirm those are current. Ask your local store before bringing anything.

Home Depot

Home Depot's EcoActions page says stores have a recycling station near the entrance with Call2Recycle bins. It accepts any non-leaking rechargeable battery up to 11 pounds and under 300 watt-hours at no charge, placed in the plastic bags provided. The station also takes CFL bulbs. Call2Recycle has since renamed itself The Battery Network; Recycling Today reports its network includes Best Buy, Home Depot and Lowe's among more than 20,000 US collection sites. More on our batteries and bulbs page.

Phones

Telephones are excluded from Oregon E-Cycles. Options from the sources above: Apple's free recycling for Apple devices, Best Buy's cell-phone category, and the battery-network locator, which the EPA lists as accepting cell phones. The FTC's checklist for getting rid of a phone is summarized on our wipe page.