In an effort to reduce the amount of “stuff” we have, Rachel and I decided to consolidate our CD collection and put all the discs in one of those big CD binders for easy storage. We’re now faced with the problem of what to do with all the old jewel cases.
My first instinct was to put them in the recycling bin along with everything else but it seems the City of San Diego doesn’t accept them for recycling. After some further research online it looks like I’m not the only person having this problem:
Environmentalists have been worried about CD jewel case disposal ever since compact discs first became popular in the 1980s. Jewel cases are made out of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a petrochemical-based plastic that is notoriously difficult to recycle and has been linked to elevated cancer rates among workers and neighbors where it is manufactured. Also, the lead often added to strengthen PVC can contaminate water, soil and air around PVC manufacturing sites.
Worse yet, because it contains a variety of additives and lacks a uniform composition, PVC is far less recyclable than other plastics. Its quality degrades after only two or three “cycles.” Greenpeace has identified PVC as the least recycled of the six major common plastics. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that less than one percent of total post-consumer PVC is recovered or reprocessed.
As a result, most municipal recycling centers do not accept PVC products, meaning that millions of CD jewel cases either take up room indefinitely in landfills, where they won’t biodegrade, or are incinerated. And unfortunately, the burning of PVC creates airborne dioxins.
While options for recycling CD jewel cases and other PVC plastics are limited, the Sammamish, Washington-based GreenDisk company will take jewel cases for a fee of $5.95 for up to 20 pounds. GreenDisk then turns the resulting raw materials into GreenDisk-branded office supplies including, you guessed it, CD jewel cases containing at least 76 percent post-consumer waste content.
Another way to make use of old jewel cases would be for art’s sake. They can be used as picture flames or to show off collections of miniature items, such as coins, stamps or dried flowers. CONTACT: GreenDisk, (800)305-DISK, www.greendisk.com.
E: The Environmental Magazine, Nov-Dec, 2005 by John O’Dwyer, Bianca Hoffman
I really want to do my part for the environment but it looks like I’m going to end up throwing them in the trash… sorry Mother Nature!
