Dear EcoGeek, Is it possible to recycle old CDs or DVDs?
Thanks, Rob The perpetual scourge of EcoGeekiness is obsolescence. We pay good money for what we see as a good product, and then five years down the line we’re surrounded by useless junk! But I can’t help but answer this seemingly straightforward question with several different answers. First, I’ll actually answer the question: Yes, you can, but it’s not as simple as curbside pickup. CDs and DVDs do contain valuable materials (CDRs even sometimes contain gold) and there are techniques to harvest that material for reuse, but those same materials make them too complicated for regular recycling centers. Unfortunately, the materials aren’t expensive enough that someone will pay for them. To recycle CDs you’ll have to ship them to a special recycling center. Several are listed at the bottom of this post….
