Current Events > Can NES consoles be thrown away or do they have to be recycled?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have three consoles that play NES games and none of them work: two official NES consoles and a retro repro (legal since the NES patent expired). It's easier to buy a $20 repro or a $60 official NES than it is to go in and manually fix the pin connectors. I need to let go of these bulky nostalgic blocks that are taking up space because I'm not going to try and fix them.

I will, however, replace them.

Probably find a collector somewhere who doesn't care if they work or not

---

You should take them to an electronics disposal/recycling depot
---

Nope, trash.

I'm just curious about the legality. I know that old computers, TVs, and VCRs have to be recycled. I wonder if that applies to old consoles as well.

That was in response to the second post. I'll take them to a recycling depot if it's a legal requirement.

Are they broken? If not trade them to a retro shop.

---

They are broken. The pin connectors are no longer working on any of them.

The repro console will play about 20% of the games I try on it. One NES turns off and on and has done so for years. The other NES has fuzz on 30% of the screen from where the pins don't connect right. It'd be easier to take a snapshop with my phone than to try and describe it, but I'm not plugging it back in.