When you're ready to ditch satellite television or you're ready to upgrade your equipment, you'll likely have a dish that you no longer need. The reason many homeowners are getting rid of their satellite service is that they have turned to streaming services, which is an option that's usually much less expensive. Instead of throwing them in the trash where they can clutter a landfill, there are a few environmentally-friendly options available. 

Recycle

Since satellite dishes are mostly made of metal and plastic, they can be recycled. This means that you can get them out of your yard without making less room in landfills or leaving them around your yard to collect dust. If there are electronic pieces on the satellite, then they can usually be used on other pieces of equipment so that they aren't thrown away, either. 

You can talk to your local recycling center or environmental organization to find out where to take old satellite dishes to recycle as you usually can't set them on the sidewalk with other items. There are usually certain days when you can take larger items like satellite dishes and appliances. Another option would be to contact the provider to see if you can give it back to the company so that they can recycle it instead of throwing it away. Spectrum offers dish recycling. There are websites that give details about which dishes can be turned back into companies and if there are companies that will pick up the dishes that you have if you have more than one. Some of them will remove them from your roof or from the pole in your yard so that you don't have to do any work, but the company might charge a fee for this service. 

Repurpose

If you have an imagination, then you could repurpose your satellite dish so that it serves another purpose. You could turn a small dish into a shield for playing superheroes with your children. This can be achieved by painting the dish and then adding a few accessories to make it unique. Another option is to turn a satellite dish that's on a pole into a birdbath. If it's not resistant to rust, then you might have to add a coating to the dish before water is added. 

Antenna

If you don't want to use a satellite service in your home any longer but don't want to get cable or streaming services just yet, you could use the dish as an antenna for your home so that you get basic television channels. The metal on the dish should be able to act as a reflector so that you can watch at least a few channels until you decide which route you want to go with television in your home. 

Wi-Fi

You might need to purchase a few parts for this idea, but you can get free Wi-Fi internet connection with a satellite dish. All you need to do is point the dish in the direction of the internet source. A can is set up in front of the dish to collect the data from the internet source before sending it to your device. You can also put a microphone in front of your dish and point it in the direction of people talking or other sounds. The design of the dish can magnify most sounds as long as they aren't too far away.