# Can CD/DVD's be recycled?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cd-dvds-be-recycled/332803>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 26, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cd-dvds-be-recycled/332803 "2005-11-26T14:44:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cd-dvds-be-recycled/332803/1 "2005-11-26T14:44:50Z")

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Is it possible? Can say all the games nobody really wants anymore (something like a 2001 baseball game) or the CD’s that nobody wants anymore be melted down and reformed into new media? Or at least can they be recycled into something else plastic?

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**Author:** ![Fridgemagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@Fridgemagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fridgemagnet)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-cd-dvds-be-recycled/332803/2 "2005-11-26T15:23:05Z")

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The jewel cases are easier to recycle than the discs as the latter have a mix or aluminium/polycarbonate (stamped) or nasty heavy-metal laden chemical/polycarbonate (recordable). [London Recycling](http://londonrecycling.productionarea.com/special/cds.php) offer such a service, but it seems to be a specialised area still and most waste CDs go into landfill.

The optical storage company I used to work for generated thousands of waste CDs and DVDs, and in some locations special disc recycling bins were in use. At least I think they were recycled, rather than disposed of in a special way.