[GPSCC-chat] Recycling CDs and DVDs?

[Cameron L. Spitzer]

CDs are made of polycarbonate and aluminum.
DVDs are made of polycarbonate and some
proprietary organic dyes.
The aluminum and dyes appear in vary small quantities.

There's a chemical Bisphenol-A which is used in
making polycarbonate products.  My understanding
is it makes it flexible, which helps resist shattering.
Bisphenol-A is toxic and leaches into foods.
That's why there's advice to replace polycarbonate
water bottles and food containers with other stuff.
But the toxicity is relatively low, and nobody's
claiming Bisphenol-A bioaccumulates.

The only places I'm hearing dire warnings about
a terrible coverup of Bisphenol-A dangers are the
same places that carry dire warnings about radiation
from power lines and wifi hotspots, "chemtrails,"
and like nonsense.
So I'm dismissing it as another example of "those
who refuse to do arithmetic are doomed to talk
nonsense."  We have to get smarter about which
threats are significant.

As far as I know, most plastics are not recycleable.
That is, you can't collect used items made out of
plastic x and make more of the same items out of them.
Aluminum and iron are indefinitely recycleable.
Wood-pulp paper is somewhat recycleable, you can
use a fiber three or four times before it disintegrates
in washing.  Hemp does better.  But you can't make
new (plastic) milk jugs out of old milk jugs.
Aside from the problem of keeping the colors separated,
plastic goes through irreversible chemical changes
as the items are fabricated.  It's not the same
stuff after molding and extrusion.  You can't make
new CDs out of old CDs because only "virgin"
polycarbonate is optically clear enough to work.

When Waste Management Inc says they're "recycling"
your plastic containers, it means they've found a
market for waste plastic.  They make a type
of low-grade lumber out of grocery bags and milk
jugs.  It's too soft for structures, and it can't
be used indoors because of the way it burns.
It's used for fences and decks and picnic tables.
Maybe they use shredded polycarbonate in pavement
mix or something.

So in my layperson's opinion, recycling CDs is
a non-starter.  Use them for coasters or make a
mobile or something.

-Cameron