Skip to main content

How to recycle CDs and DVDs

If you're 21, you can probably stop reading now. If you're a bit older and own CDs keep reading. 

CDs are an example of "calendar clutter" - once-useful items that time has rendered obsolete. But what should we do with CDs rather than dump them in the garbage. Is there a way to recycle CDs and DVDs?

Other options

Obviously I'm a big fan of selling (people bought my Batman DVDs and my Abba CD) or giving away. These are both better options than landfill.

But there are discs that no-one wants. The installation disc for the printer you no longer own, the Microsoft Encarta 98 disc, the CD computer backups (pre-external hard drives), the disc of digital photos from your holiday with a friend, and self-made music CDs (the 90s/2000s equivalent of an 80s mix tape).

Unless you want to do a crafty DIY project the next best option is to recycle them. But where?

Officeworks

This is me at a nearby Officeworks, recycling a bunch of discs we've had for ages.

Out of interest, they also take pens and markers (if you're not near a Biome), batteries, mobile phones and accessories, computers and accessories, and ink toner cartridges.

Further reading

If you're interested in other ways to have less clutter without creating more landfill, see my previous posts on:

What to do with 128 pens?

The brilliant new way to downsize clothing

You may also want to subscribe to my monthly-ish email update for future articles on downsizing.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

5 Reasons why we hoard - and they're wrong

"Less is More" is one of the catch-cries of downsizing. Often the fewer things we have the more we value them. So it's a great title for a book that's basically a manual for how to de-clutter your home. The introductory chapter of Less is More: How to De-clutter Your Life gives some great insights into why we find it so hard to reduce our stuff. Here are 5 of them - the last one is one of the biggest for me. 1. The cost of holding on. We were raised by our parents and grandparents and in their day items were expensive and space was cheap. It made sense in those days to hold onto stuff just in case you ever needed it. But today housing is expensive and items are cheap. It's hard to change a habit, but now we save much more by downsizing. 2. Keeping it in the family. For some reason we prefer to give things to those close to us. Again this was viable in the days of big families and lots of children to receive hand-me-downs. But these days we have smaller fa...

20 unplugged ideas

May 1-7 is Screen-Free Week . It's about spending time away from the screen and more time with each other - or doing things we love. It's a great chance to break the work-tired-watchTV-ads-shop-work cycle. This list of twenty alternative ideas is great for screen-free week. It's also a great reminder of things we could enjoy if we're shopping and spending less - and maybe working less and enjoying life more.

How much super will we have?

Will we be OK in old age? How much will we have? One of the great things about living in Australia is superannuation. Our employers are required to pay into an investment account for our retirement. In recent times, my wife and I have been in several conversations with friends who are wondering (or worried) if their balance will be enough. That's what inspired this article. Great question It's a great question to ask, especially around the age of 35 to 40. At that point, old age is less of a distant abstract concept. It's becoming a medium-term reality. At 35 the number of years of living off super is possibly more than half of your remaining years. At 40 you may consider yourself about half way through your working life. Looking at your balance, it's easy to think that twice that balance may not be enough.  Read on, because I have good news for you. It's better than you might think As I've mentioned in earlier posts, compound growth means the investment grows f...