Managing a Disc’s
Environmental Impact
Does your company have a
CD & DVD End-of-Life Protocol?
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Why? - Today’s Situation…
 Every month, millions of CDs and
DVDs that are placed in the trash
end up in landfills and
incinerators.
 Most people claim “I didn’t know
CDs and DVDs can be recycled.”
 Discs will ultimately never
decompose in a landfill
 Discs that get burned in an
incinerator emit harmful gases
into our environment.
 Billions of discs are still being
manufactured and distributed
every year
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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How Did We Get Here?
 Many companies that distribute software on discs
do not have an “End of Life” product management
program in place
 Like the public, many companies do not realize the
importance of recycling discs, or where to send
discs for recycling
 Town curbside recycling programs focus primarily
on #1, #2 & #3 plastics. CDs and DVDs are #7,
high grade, very reusable polycarbonate plastic.
Since discs are not “marked” how to be recycled,
discs are treated like a contaminate to the other
types of plastics that are identified and recycled.
Discs generally get removed and placed in a landfill.
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
3
Please DO NOT let your company:
• Place discs in the trash
• Shred discs while in cases
• Notch-cut discs
• Saw-cut discs
• Send your discs to a
waste-to-energy incineration plant
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Shredding discs in cases
is not environmentally friendly
 Mass shredding is when the
whole package is granulated
 Contaminates paper in plastic
 Contaminates plastic in paper
 Creates powder “fines”
 Does not allow for proper
resource recovery
 Destined for a landfill
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
5
Notch/Saw Cutting is not
environmentally friendly
 Notch Cutting is when the
package has a small notch cut
into it
 Saw Cutting is when the
package is destroyed by cutting
in half with a saw
 It contaminates paper in plastic
 It contaminates plastic in paper
 It creates powder “fines”
 IT does not allow for proper
resource recovery
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Notch Cutting is not
environmentally friendly
 Notch Cutting converts
approximately 3% of the
package into powder “fines”.
 Millions of packages would
produce tons of “fines” destined
for a landfill.
 NOTE: This disc might still play,
for the data plays from the
inside hub outward on the disc.
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Saw Cutting is not
environmentally friendly
 Saw Cut packages get baled
and exported to countries,
such as China.
 Note: Packages can still be
identified post destruction
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Bad for humans & the environment
 Controversial labor practices are
utilized to disassemble and sort
the baled mess.
 Items are now very dangerous
to hand sort
 Items contain sharp edges and
are difficult to handle
 Items may get burned to
convert to energy
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Solution
The CD Recycling Center of America!
Manages:
 Incoming Logistics
 Total staged security
 Total package disassembly and sorting
 Destruction of necessary components
 100% resource recovery
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Material Reclamation
Proper sorting at The CD Recycling Center
secure sites yields best reclamation
Discs •Cases • Paper
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Complete Disassembly
- Creating American Jobs
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1. Remove packages from cartons.
2. Remove shrink-wrap from the package.
3. Remove the Paper cover.
4. Remove the disc.
5. Shred the paper separately - then recycle to pulp.
6. Process the disc - then granulate back to resin.
7. Granulate the case - then recycle back to resin.
8. Bale shrink-wrap film - then recycle back to resin.
9. Reuse or chip pallets - wood processing
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Complete Sorting
 1. Shrink-wrap - Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) #3 plastic
 2. DVD case - Polypropylene (PP) #5 plastic or CD case
Polystyrene (PS) #6 plastic
 3. Printed cover - Text weight paper, or board stock
 4. DVD disc - Polycarbonate (PC)#7 plastic
 5. Outer cartons - Cardboard paperboard - (OCC)
 6. Pallet - Wood
 7. Pallet wrap - Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) #3 plastic
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Life of a Disc
 Virgin Polycarbonate Resin is molded into a
new disc. A reflective layer, protective layer
and ink layer are added.
 Recycled discs are granulated and processed to
become 99.5% pure and clean recycled
polycarbonate material.
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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What do recycled
CDs & DVDs become?
 Automotive parts
 Home building materials
 Safety glasses • Helmets •
Distributor Caps • Decking
and Fencing Material
 Everyday items that can be
manufactured from recycled
polycarbonate
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Your New Sustainability Action Item:
Promote, Educate, and collect
Use the CD Recycling Center logo
on your disc & packaging
 Promote customer education on the
importance of disc recycling
 Direct customers to The CD Recycling
Center for free disc recycling
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©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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The CD Recycling Center
is spreading the word everyday!
 News articles
 Radio Interviews
 School Programs
 Public Libraries
 Community Television
 Social Media
 Logo placed on media,
audio & software discs
and related packaging
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Companies That Send Discs to The CD
Recycling Center of America
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US Postal Service
US Army & Navy
UPS
IRS
IBM
CBS
AT & T
Microsoft
Blockbuster Video
William Morris Agency
Thousands of others
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Use of Logo is Free and Encouraged to Promote
Recycling Awareness
Logo or website promotes and instructs
how to recycle the discs when finished with.
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Recommendations
 Place The CD Recycling Logo on new
manufactured items
 Direct consumers on how to properly
recycle their discs when finished with
 Promote and support
 The CD Recycling Center of America!
This Disc is Recyclable
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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Thank You!
BY instructing your customers how to
properly recycle their unwanted discs with
The CD Recycling Center of America,
your company will:
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Help control pollution
Keep our landfills and incinerators cleaner
Conserve Natural resources - namely oil
Limit your business environmental impact
Help the Earth!
EVERY DISC COUNTS.
©2011 The Recycling Center of
America
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