In This Guide: Why the Recycling Center Turns You Away • Where to Actually Drop It Off • Killeen Rules to Know • Curbside and Bulk Pickup • Other Options • Common Mistakes • Tex's Take • FAQ
You take the old monitor to 111 E Avenue F expecting a quick drop-off, and the attendant tells you it's not on the accepted list. Now you're standing in the parking lot holding a fifteen-pound box of plastic and glass with nowhere obvious to put it. This happens to a lot of Killeen residents, because the city's own recycling page lists paper, cardboard, cans, glass bottles, and a handful of other items, but computer monitors aren't one of them. The good news is you've got two solid drop-off options across town, and possibly a free one if you know your monitor's brand. If you've got other appliances to deal with too, our Electronics & Appliances guides cover several other Texas cities.
Why This Matters
Old monitors aren't just plastic. CRT (the boxy, heavy kind) monitors contain several pounds of leaded glass, and even flat-panel LCDs have mercury in the backlight and metals in the circuit board. Toss one in your regular trash cart and it heads to the landfill, where none of that gets recovered or contained properly. It's also just a waste of usable material. The aluminum, copper, and glass inside a dead monitor have real scrap value once separated out the right way. If you're dealing with a mix of hazardous household items alongside the monitor, our guide to household hazardous waste disposal walks through how Texas cities generally handle that category.
Step 1: Check the Brand Before You Do Anything Else
Texas has had a law on the books since 2008 called the Texas Recycles Computers Program (created by House Bill 2714). It requires any manufacturer selling computer equipment in Texas, including monitors, to offer consumers a free and convenient way to recycle their own branded products. Dell, HP, Samsung, and most major brands comply. Before you drive anywhere, look up your monitor's brand at TexasRecyclesComputers.org to see if there's a mail-back or drop-off option specific to that manufacturer. If your monitor is unbranded, generic, or the manufacturer is out of business, skip to the retail options below.
Where to Drop Off a Monitor in Killeen
| Center | Address | Phone | Hours | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Buy Killeen | 3209 E Central Texas Expy, Killeen, TX 76543 | (254) 680-4040 | Store hours (call to confirm) | $25 to $29.99 per monitor (up to 50 inches). Limit 2 monitors/TVs per household per day. |
| OfficeMax (Office Depot) | 1800 Lowes Blvd, Killeen, TX 76542 | (254) 539-7015 | Mon 9am-6pm, Tue-Fri 8am-7pm, Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 11am-6pm | Requires a Tech Recycling Box: $8.39 small (20 lb), $18.29 medium (40 lb), $28 large (60 lb) |
| Staples Killeen | 3901 E Stan Schlueter Loop, Ste 100, Killeen, TX 76542 | (254) 598-4893 | Call ahead to confirm | Free per Staples' national program; call ahead to confirm monitor drop-off at this location |
Curbside and Bulk Pickup
Killeen's regular curbside collection does not take electronics, and the city doesn't run a bulk pickup program that includes monitors. Setting one at the curb with your household trash risks it getting left behind or, worse, actually picked up and landfilled without any of the recycling that's supposed to happen. If you're clearing out several electronics at once alongside the monitor, a private junk hauler serving Bell County can pick everything up together, though you'll pay more than handling the monitor yourself through Best Buy or OfficeMax.
Other Options
If the monitor still turns on and displays a clean picture, donation beats recycling every time. Goodwill Central Texas accepts working computer monitors at its Killeen-area donation centers as part of its electronics reuse program, and it's worth a call to your nearest location to confirm they're taking monitors that week. Local schools and nonprofits sometimes want working monitors for classroom or lab setups too, so a post in a Killeen community group can turn up a taker faster than you'd expect. Clearing out a home office at the same time? Our Killeen printer recycling guide covers the same Best Buy drop-off for printers and cartridges, plus a Staples option across town.
Common Mistakes
Driving straight to the city Recycling Center without checking first is the most common one. Assuming Best Buy's recycling is free is another. It's free for laptops, not for monitors, so bring a card. And people frequently show up at OfficeMax without a Tech Recycling Box, not realizing they have to buy one before the store will take the item.
Tex's Take
Nobody in Killeen's city government decided monitors don't matter. The Recycling Center's list is built around what the city can process in-house, and glass-and-lead electronics aren't in that lane. That's not a knock on the city, it's just how municipal recycling budgets work. What actually costs residents time is not checking the brand angle first. A five-minute look at TexasRecyclesComputers.org can turn a $25 Best Buy fee into a free mail-back, and almost nobody does that step. Check the brand before you check the map.
FAQ
Does Killeen's Recycling Center take computer monitors?
No. Its accepted list covers paper, cardboard, plastics #1 and #2, glass bottles, metal cans, oil, and cell phones. Monitors aren't included.
Is monitor recycling free anywhere in Killeen?
It can be, if your monitor's manufacturer participates in the Texas Recycles Computers Program. Check TexasRecyclesComputers.org for your brand. Otherwise, expect a $25 to $29.99 fee at Best Buy or the cost of a Tech Recycling Box at OfficeMax.
Can I put an old monitor in my curbside recycling bin?
No. Curbside collection in Killeen is for paper, plastic, glass, and metal cans only. A monitor in that bin will likely get pulled and trashed anyway.
What about an old CRT (tube) monitor specifically?
CRTs contain leaded glass and get treated more cautiously by some recyclers. Call Best Buy or OfficeMax ahead of time to confirm they'll take a CRT unit, since policies can differ from their flat-panel rules.
Will Goodwill take a broken monitor?
Usually not. Donation programs generally want monitors that power on and display properly. A broken one should go to Best Buy, OfficeMax, or a manufacturer take-back program instead.
Data last verified July 2026 against the City of Killeen's official Recycling Center page, Best Buy's and Office Depot's official recycling program pages, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's Texas Recycles Computers Program guidance, and Staples' Killeen location as cross-verified via Yellow Pages. Hours, fees, and accepted items can change without notice. Call ahead before making a trip.
If you've got more than one monitor to clear out, call Best Buy first and ask specifically whether they're taking CRTs that week. It saves a wasted trip, and it's the one detail none of the general e-waste directories bother to check for you. Clearing out a whole home office or garage at once? Our refrigerator recycling guide covers the free-pickup and Freon-tag rules for the other big item people usually tackle in the same cleanout.
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