Have no fear! DVD recycling is here!

Yesterday, Jenny had asked me what we could do with all the used DVDs she had lying around from burning video edits. "Bird-catchers?" I proffered. She winced. I understood my new blog task.

A quick Google search nets a few companies that will have no problem taking them off your hands. But it’s gonna cost you a small nut in shipping costs.

A good place to send them should you decide is the cdrecyclingcenter.org. Their website's got a pretty awesome "green" theme (we especially dig the links done in green sharpie). But more importantly, they're dead serious about raising awareness and go deep into the concept that recycling is a natural part of sustaining all living creatures in equilibrium. They've also written a very detailed description of a compact disc's lifecycle.

Best idea would be to team up with a few hard-core recyclers and split the cost for shipping. No need for fancy containers. Just a cardboard box. They don't charge. Just register and put yourself on their map of recyclers. The benefit in the long-run far exceeds the cost now. Because all those innocent little disks you burn thru by the spindle-full (and I'm talking to you, too, architects, artists, and designers) are evil, as you'll see from this cheery EPA map. (Actually I think that's where Bruce from CD Recycling Center got his info...)

So. Rather than spend your precious time turning these film & videomaker's necessities into ugly crafts that will only remind you of all the waste you've created, send them off, grind them up and sprinkle them like fairy dust down the recycled-plastics pipeline. You may see them again some day in the fire alarm you install after doing the following.

Footnote: Those of you with classified government information or pornography on those disks, fear not. Just put them in the microwave with a glass of water and hit “High.” Who says saving the environment isn’t full of fireworks!

Credits: We think the video above may be David Lynch's new work-in-progress.