Santa Cruz's economy runs on two different clocks: the academic calendar at UC Santa Cruz, which cycles through lab and department computers every few years, and the boardwalk-and-beach tourism season, which keeps point-of-sale systems, ticketing kiosks, and seasonal office gear turning over. Add in a dense strip of downtown small businesses along Pacific Avenue, and the city produces a genuinely mixed stream of retired electronics rather than one uniform type.
Desktops, laptops, department servers, networking equipment, monitors, printers, POS terminals, phones, all battery chemistries, and hard drives with certified destruction, handled with the documentation university procurement offices and small business owners alike expect. Ticketing kiosks and card readers from boardwalk-area businesses go in the same load.
We time the pickup to your calendar: between academic terms for a department, after the summer season for a tourism operator. Everything else follows our six steps in order. Containers and staff training come first, then the pickup by our own crew, tracking under a ticket number, processing at our Sacramento facility with data handled first, and certificates and a report for your files.
No. California's universal waste rules keep most electronics and batteries out of household garbage. We don't offer residential service, and that includes student housing. Household electronics go to Secure Recycle, our sister company for consumers, which operates from our Sacramento address at 3921 Pell Circle; for most people in Santa Cruz County, a collection site from CalRecycle's list will be closer.
Santa Cruz pickups run under our ISO 9001, 14001, and 45001-certified process, with full chain-of-custody documentation for every load, from a single office printer to a department's worth of retired lab equipment.
Request a quote and tell us what you're retiring — a few office desktops or a larger lab or seasonal-business cleanout. We also serve nearby Watsonville and Salinas.
No obligation. We respond same business day.
Prefer to talk? Call (916) 339-3676.
Battery Recycling
We can recycle virtually all types of batteries. In most cases, it is either best practice or required to separate batteries by chemistry type.
Business Electronics Recycling
Our electronic waste recycling services prioritize security and compliance, ensuring responsible disposal while also boosting your bottom line.
Hard Drive Destruction Service
Our data destruction services meet or exceed the most stringent industry standards, providing peace of mind and full compliance.
This was our first time working with MWS and they were amazing! Quick response time, efficient, and friendly. Ivan was the team member who was on site for the pickup, and he was great. He worked quickly, is very knowledgeable, and is so kind. It was so easy working with him. We are looking forward to using MWS for our E-waste and Universal waste needs in the future. - Sacramento City College Sustainability
Sophie Wheeler
on Google
A little bit off the beaten track in Natomas, but Modern Waste quickly and efficiently helped me recycle my broken Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries at a reasonable $/lb fee (Sac county e-waste will not accept these items). Ramiro and Vincent were very friendly and helpful.
We had another vendor cancel on us last minute & Modern Waste jumped into action & was able to help us with ewaste & critical document shredding overnight. Team was helpful, professional & got the job done quickly & efficiently. We were able to complete an office move out/shut down in a day with their help! Highly recommend this business!
Thank You Gretchen! We are happy to make a difference.
Chris was awesome! He came in and picked up all of the e-waste we had ready for him. He was polite and professional throughout the entire process. He handled the equipment with care, including the site equipment that was already in place. I am very happy with his service and appreciate the great job he did.
I needed hard drives on some old laptops destroyed so any old personal information can't be stolen. The guys there were friendly and helpful and fast. Thanks Pavel and Vincent. Thanks Modern Waste for doing a helpful fast service to us.
We truly appreciate your generous review! 😊 It's fantastic to know our team was able to assist you with your hard drive destruction needs efficiently. We are so glad to hear you had a pleasing experience with us. Our door is always open for all your future recycling needs!
