South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Techno-Trash Doesn’t Have to End Up in Landfill
Filed under: Earth 911 - August 17, 2008
By Tim Paradis
I buy more music and movies online and my CDs, videos, cassette tapes and even some DVDs are now just taking up space on the shelf. How can I recycle old media materials?
Consumers shouldn’t toss old CDs or videos into the trash. They could contain chemicals and metals that don’t belong in a landfill.
Check with a library, school or community center to see if they have use for them. Beyond that, it’s smart to ask a sanitation department if it recycles such items.
The Environmental Protection Agency points consumers to resources such as earth911.org, which lists services that handle the recycling of various materials. Earth 911 offers more than 2,900 locations that handle media such as CDs and DVDs.
There are also companies such as GreenDisk.com that make a business of collecting what it calls “technotrash” from around the country. Mickey Friedman, chief operating officer at GreenDisk, said consumers are starting to ask more questions about what to do with the electronic detritus building up in basements, garages and attics.
Consumers and businesses can send old media to GreenDisk for processing. The company will handle up 20 pounds for about $7 and charges 30 cents a pound after that.