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Residential recycling and disposal search tool

Electrical cords, plugs and wires

How to safely dispose of electrical cords

Electrical cords

Electrical wires

Ethernet cables

Coaxial cables

Examples of electrical cords

  • Extension cords and power bars
  • Electrical plugs and wires
  • Network and ethernet cables (CAT5, blue cables, etc.)
  • Coaxial cables
  • Phone cords

How to dispose

There are two ways to dispose of electrical cords depending on if you have small or large quantities.

Small quantities of electrical cords

  • Put into your black cart

Put broken and used electrical cords and wires into your black cart as garbage.

Large quantities of electrical cords

  • Take to a City Eco Centre

Take large quantities of electrical cords to a City Eco Centre for scrap metal recycling – charges will apply.

  • Take to a special drop-off location

Some private metal recyclers m​ay buy scrap metal, charge a fee or accept items for free. Find options at The Yellow Pages under Metal Recycling or contact these local metal recyclers:

Why can't this be recycled in the blue cart?

When items like hoses, electrical cords and other string-like items end up at the sorting facility, it gets all wrapped up and tangled with the good recyclables. This results in a major hazard for the workers and halts the sorting process.

Map of Eco Centre locations

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