You got to admit: CDs are a lovely thing. Even though it may face strong competition with MP3 downloads when it comes to music, the silver disc excels as a storage medium. Holiday pictures, theses, backup copies, free anti-virus software or demo versions of computer games as give-aways in magazines – since it is so easy, everything and anything ends up on a CD or DVD and once the stored data is not needed anymore the carrier gathers dust in a shelve or is dumped.

The BlueBoxx Gesellschaft für CD Recycling mbH from neighbouring Elsenfeld has come up with a more useful way to get rid of one’s hazardous waste, though. It initiated a return system which allows recycling the main component of CDs which is polycarbonate. Colour, layers of varnish, glue, and aluminium are separated from the high-quality plastic which can then enter the production circle once again. This process saves valuable resources and reduces waste.

Private persons can send in their old CDs or deposit them in one of the BlueBoxxes – the bottle bank for CDs – which have been set up by many municipalities and cities. The local authorities for waste management and environment will be glad to inform you about the nearest boxes. Major companies may want to think about getting their own BlueBoxx. In its town of birth, there is a public BlueBoxx at Georg-Keimel-Volksschule secondary modern school. For every full box, one euro goes to the registered society supporting children suffering from cancer and their parents. Thinking out of the box has never been so easy!

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