Discs & the Environment

Saving the environment, one disc at a time...

Recycling your unwanted used and old DVD’s, CDs and video games is an excellent way to make some extra cash and contribute positively towards saving our planet from environmental damage.

Recycling used DVDs, CDs and games promotes sustainable and ethical living by reducing the amount of toxic plastic in landfills. Selling your discs to WeBuyDVDs.co.uk also reduces your carbon emissions on the manufacturing side of the process.

Simply put, the more your old DVDs, CDs and games you recycle with WeBuyDVDs.co.uk, the fewer that need to be produced. Stopping global warming and reducing landfill waste are two important goals that we all need to share in order to create a safer, cleaner and greener planet. You really can save the environment, one movie at a time!

Following a green lifestyle by ‘Reducing, Reusing and Recycling’ enables a more sustainable and less wasteful way of living as WeBuyDvds.co.uk has found. Instead of mindlessly consuming and disposing of unwanted goods, recycling allows you to actively reduce the billions of tonnes of landfills that hurt the environment every year.

Getting Started is easy...

	5.5 MILLION – The number of boxes of software, CDs and DVDs that are thrown into landfills each year.

	2,500 tonnes – The number of unwanted discs thrown away last year

	100 MILLION tonnes – The amount of waste produced in the UK this year.

	100,000 pounds – The number of discs that become outdated or unused each year.

	17% – The percentage of waste being recycled in the UK

	50% – The percentage of waste being recycled in other European countries

How to Help...

Go through your used DVD, CD and game collections. Talk to your mum, your friends, your workplace and your child’s school. Ask that unwanted, used DVDs, CDs and games to be donated in order to help the environment – donate the money made from selling the DVDs, CDs and games to a green charity and claim your donation as a tax deduction.

Be ruthless when hunting through your personal DVDs, CDs and games collections. If you’ve watched a movie once and have kept it for 5 years, it is time to get rid of it! Sell your unwanted DVDs, CDs and games for cash.

Spread the word – telling other people about helping the environment and making extra money is even more helpful than selling your own discs. If you tell people and they tell people you raise awareness of this relatively new way to help the environment.

Slightly damaged DVD’s, CDs and games that you do love can be repaired, rather than thrown away and newly purchased.

Buy second-hand DVDs, CDs and games that have been recycled rather than new DVDs.

How are DVDs made?

Every movie that you watch is imprinted onto a DVD and packaged in plastic wrap. The process of making a DVD consumes energy and resources and ultimately produces waste. Understanding how a DVD is made, and what it is made of, can help you to understand the possible environmental impacts and motivate you to recycle.

	The materials used to make a DVD require mining and processing and these processes contribute to global warming. DVDs can be made from a range of materials including aluminium, polycarbonate, lacquer, gold, glass, silver, nickel and chemical dyes.

	A machine, which can mould shapes, creates the polycarbonate and stamps the plastic with digital data. A DVD machine can then interpret the data with a laser. The plastic centre is coated with aluminium and a further layer of protective coating. A label is then printed on to the surface of the DVD. The DVD is packaged in plastic and then shipped globally.

	Each step of the process can have a negative impact on the environment, and so recycling DVDs and purchasing pre-owned movies is a great way to negate the effects of this consumptive process.

A DVD can remain in its created state for centuries, so reusing or recycling is clearly the best option.

So why should I recycle?

Lets take a moment to look at the bigger picture here. Why should you bother to recycle? Is it really necessary? What can really happen to our planet if enough people don’t get on board and really start to try and find ways of saving our Earth?

Global warming can and will have a devastating impact on this generation, and on future generations. The future looks bleak unless government, companies and individuals can work together to reduce and prevent global warming. Here are four catastrophic effects caused by global warming.

Wild weather – Hurricanes, cyclones, severe storms arise from warmer weather conditions. Loss of property, life, crops, business and infrastructure are some of the worst effects.

Poor Health – Warmer weather fosters the spread of disease, through insect population increases and unsanitary conditions

Drought – Severe heat and drought conditions will affect crops, increase rates of skin cancer and create water and food shortages.

Melting polar ice caps – flood, destruction of eco-systems, endangering species of animals.

Landfills can have a terrible impact on the Earth’s environment. Most waste in the UK ends up in landfills. Biodegradable waste decomposes and releases methane and carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere. These greenhouse gases contribute to global warming.

In addition to contributing to global warming, landfill sites have been linked to a range of life threatening diseases and conditions, including birth defects, cancer and breathing illnesses.

Saving the planet...

Recycling your unwanted DVD’s, CDs and games for cash is just a starting point. As an individual you can make a difference by recycling, reusing and attempting to lead an eco-friendly, sustainable and ethical existence. Recycling is easy, it can make you money, it helps our world, it will help your children’s world and it can even help the economy by creating jobs connected to recycling.

So do the world a favour. Next time you have a spare half hour, pour yourself a glass of wine or make a cup of tea, and sort through your DVD, CD and game collections. Have fun watching movies, playing CDs or games you have not used in years and make a pile of them that you don’t really need or want to keep.

Make some cash, help the environment and sell those unwanted DVDs, CDs and games to WeBuyDvds.co.uk today.