Recycling CD's and diskettes

[bluntman]

I have quite a number of old PC games on CD and on diskette. I don't want to put them in the garbage because I am pretty sure the CD's, at least, contain a small amount of toxic material. Does anyone have any idea if the city will take these? If not, what can I do with them?

[b3GS]

they make good Coasters!!

you could also make them into clocks apparently http://www.recyclingcds.com/product_list.asp

:chuckle

[eqlso]

Whoa, are you supposed to recycle them?? I always just throw up my CDs in the garbage can thinking it was alright to...uh oh...

[ds2chan]

I brought some cds to a recycling day at a school once and apparently they don't take them cuz there's nothing they can do with cds.. they take electronics, paint, etc but for some reason they can't do anything with cds.. so I just toss them into the garbage.. if u do find out let us know..

[bluntman]

I brought them to the Vaughan Hazardous Waste Depot today. They took them, but all they told me to do was to just put it in the dumpster with the rest of the computer parts (monitors, towers, etc.).

I heard somewhere that there is a small amount of cyanide used in the manufacture of CD. I just had so many (4 medium sized boxes) that I would have felt so guilty for having thrown them in the trash all at once.

[starwind]

According to a lengthy study ("Automotive shredder residue (ASR) and
compact disc (CD) waste: options for recovery of materials and energy (http://eny.hut.fi/library/publications/tkk-eny/tkk-eny-14.pdf)") from the Helsinki University of Technology:

"The nature of the compact disc (CD) does not allow it to be easily recycled. As shown in Figure 17, the disc is a multi-layer product consisting of a thermoplastic (PC) substrate and three coatings. These coatings, aluminum, lacquer and printing, respectively make up only a small portion of the entire disc. The aluminum coating is only 55-70 nm thick, and the lacquer
and printing account for approximately 20 microns to the overall thickness. In order to recover the full properties of the polycarbonate these coatings must be removed prior to recycling"

Lots of info about options for recycling CDs & DVDs.

FWIW, no mention of cyanide or toxicity.

Also, found this interesting article (2004 Fred Beamish Award Lecture —
Analytical – materials chemistry on old CDs — Beyond self-assembly (http://article.pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/ppv/RPViewDoc?issn=1480-3291&volume=83&issue=5&startPage=403)) on alternative uses of CD-Rs...



Bottom line: they appear to not contain cyanide, not be toxic, and unless there is an actual recycling program for them or you can find another use, put 'em in the garbage.

[bluntman]

That's good to know...reassuring to certain extent. Thanks for the info.