Good Stuff? - CDs and DVDs

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The Reality Behind the Spin

You listen to them on your stereo, play them in your computer, or watch movies on them. Compact discs (CDs) and their faster cousin, video discs (DVDs), are everywhere. Only a few millimeters thick, they provide hours of entertainment and hold huge volumes of information. But do you ever stop to think about how CDs and DVDs are made, what materials are used, or what happens to these discs when you don't want them anymore?

Making products like CDs and DVDs consumes natural resources, produces waste, and uses energy. CDs and DVDs are created from many different materials, including metals, plastics, and dyes. The discs are packaged in clear or colored plastic cases or cardboard boxes, wrapped in plastic, and sent to distribution centers and retail outlets around the world. If properly stored and handled, most CDs and DVDs will last for decades, and probably centuries. Depending on their condition, unwanted discs can be reused or recycled instead of thrown away, saving energy and valuable resources.

The entire process of encoding music onto a CD takes only about 5-10 seconds. A high-pressure stamper embeds the digital information into tiny indentations on a polycarbonate plastic blank, which is later coated with metal.

In 2000, more than 700 compact disc factories were operating worldwide.

When CDs were first introduced in the United States in 1983, 800,000 discs were sold. By 1990, this number had grown to close to 1 billion.

Between 1983 and 1996, the average price of a music CD in the U.S. fell by more than 40 percent.

The European market for music CDs is expanding rapidly, with almost 2.9 billion compact discs produced in Western Europe in 1998.

Each month, more than 45 tons of CDs become obsolete—outdated, useless, or unwanted.

Each year, more than 55 million boxes of software go to landfills and incinerators, and people throw away millions of music CDs.

Several companies in Europe, the U.S., and elsewhere now recycle old CDs and DVDs into a high-quality plastic for reuse in products ranging from automobile parts to office equipment.

One recycling business in San Jose, California, processes a million CDs every month. In its second year of operation, the company recovered 20 million CDs, many from software companies disposing of excess inventory. The company also recycles nearly 11,000 tons of manuals and other paper that accompanies software boxes each year.

A CD recycling company in Merseyside, United Kingdom, not only helps divert old discs from landfills, but also employs local prisoners in its plants—generating much-needed work in the region and giving them the chance to learn a skill.

Find out if the information you're looking for on disc is available over the Internet. If so, you may not need to buy the disc at all.

Prolong the life of your discs by keeping them out of direct sunlight and away from heat and water. To repair minor scratches, rub a mild abrasive (e.g. toothpaste) on the non-label side in a circular motion from the center out—or bring the disc to an inexpensive commercial refinisher.

Buy used CDs and DVDs or borrow them from others to help reduce the environmental impact associated with manufacturing new products.

Dispose of unwanted CDs or DVDs only when you have no other choice. Instead, sell them to used CD stores, share or trade them with friends, or donate them to schools, libraries, or other organizations.

As a last resort, drop the discs off at an appropriate recycling center. Check your local phone book or search the Internet for a list of recyclers.

Organize a CD/DVD reuse event. Set up a disc swap day or create a library devoted to CD/DVDsharing. For unwanted discs, organize a recycling collection at a local school or business for a community service or fundraising project.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Make a Difference Campaign for Students (www.epa.gov/epaoswer/education/mad.htm) offers a free poster for children on the life cycle of a CD.

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (svtc.etoxics.org/site/PageServer?pagename=svtc_electronic_recycling) offers information on CD recycling companies in the United States.