Green Tip 29: Don't Burn it, Back it Up!

REDUCE CD/DVD WASTE

It is estimated that American consumers buy about 1 billion CDs every year and most eventually end up in landfills. Since CDs are a mix of polycarbonate, plastic and aluminum, they don’t easily break down and are not easily recycled. They are also not biodegradable, so they won’t break down in landfills and when incinerated they release toxic fumes into the air.

 

Source: About.com

 

These days there are mush better options to listening to music, watching movies or backing up your computer work and photos:

• Buy an external back up drive for your computer files and work.  They are getting bigger and cheaper and can be used to store files for years.
• Download music
• Watch movies / TV online
• Buy used movies / CDs whenever possible
• Some people reuse old CD/DVDs in artwork
• Recycle them - find a location near you where you can drop off old discs to be recycled 

Some ideas on where to recycle them:

• Canada - GreenTec 
• Canada - CdWest.ca
• USA - CD Recycling Center
• UK - Polymer Recycling Ltd.

Green Tip 13: Do We Still Need Reminding, really?

It seems like one of those tips that never get old and that you just can't stress enough ...


RECYCLE ALUMINUM AND GLASS

Twenty recycled aluminium cans can be made with the energy it takes to manufacture one brand new one.

Every ton of glass recycled saves the equivalent of nine gallons of fuel oil needed to make glass from virgin materials.

It's really a no-brainer and most people I know do recycle these days.  If your office doesn't recycle then I suggest you urge them to do so.  Yes, I'm a geek and I have gone as far as bringing my own recycling waste home to ensure that it does get to the recycling bins.


Why it is SO important:

Conservation alone is perhaps the biggest and most important reason.  Reusing the materials we have already extracted from the earth is better then extracting new raw materials and destroying even more natural resources just to satisfy our wants.

It also saves energy because it takes less energy to recycle materials then it does to extract new ones from the earth.  This would also reduce pollution, you know, that dirty air that we frequently breath in every day ... yeah, that pollution.

Recycling more will help to reduce landfill waste, which is extremely important seeing as how we are already at the point of making islands out of the garbage already out there.  Gross!