Today's Energy Insight

In honor of Earth Week let's talk about recycling an item that does not immediately come to mind like paper, glass, aluminum cans, or plastic water bottles. Let's take a look at recycling CDs.

 

In 1983, when CDs were introduced in the United States, 800,000 discs were sold. By 1990, this number had grown to close to 1 billion! Wow, that is a lot of compact discs! More than 5.5 million boxes of software go to landfills and incinerators each year and people throw away millions of music CDs! Every month approximately 100,000 pounds of CDs become obsolete meaning outdated, useless, or unwanted.

 

According to Back Thru the Future, a technology disposal company, 

• A cd/dvd is considered a class 7 recyclable plastic
• To manufacture a pound of plastic (30 CDs per pound), it requires 300 cubic feet of natural gas, 2 cups of crude oil and 24 gallons of water
• It is estimated that AOL alone has distributed more than 2 billion CDs. That is the natural gas equivalent of heating 200,000 homes for 1 year
• It is estimated that it will take over 1 million years for a CD to completely decompose in a landfill

With all that in mind, I have good news to share. There is a company that recycles CDs and cases and I will be setting up drop-off bins for both CDs and cases at the Education Services Center.

If you have any ideas for other items you would like to see recycled in the district or if you have any questions, please contact me at sheri_brunner@rdale.org.