Sep 7, 2008 
It’s impossible to even think of computing without CD’s. Be it loading program on a lap top or watching a movie or storing backups of all your stuff CD’s are built to last. But that is where the problems raise. They are built to last longer than you might need them, so when you throw it away, it just adds to what has been labeled as e-junk foiling up a landfill in some part of the city. Multiply this by the sheer amount of people who use them. And you would probably have enough shiny discs to make a small mountain. There is an awful lot of plastic that goes into a CD. And the problem is that it lasts and lasts much like an unwanted house guest.
But there are ways to get around this from buying CD’s that have less plastic to ones that have a label which says they are environmentally friendly, to even buying them without the extra plastic packaging . A lot of people are catching onto this new trend.
Although there seems to be no alternative to using polycarbonate plastic in the production of CDs, the first green option is to reduce the number of CDs that are used. For starter use a blank DVD that can pack in a lot of information and you would not need an armload of them.
Unless you are using a rewriteable CD, you can only write information onto a CD once. So why not buy a pen drive with flash memory? They cost more, but you can use them over and over again.
The next time you head out to buy blank CDs, buy them on spindles on bulk and not in the individual plastic cases that each one comes with. You don’t need the jewel cases.
A lot of CD’s these days are made from packaging that is recycled. Right down to the inks that are used in the inlay and cover printing. For example the inks that are used in eco-friendly CDs are made from vegetables oil (linseed oil being an industry preference here) that are mild and ecologically sensitive
Look for CDs that have labels on them that state this. Look for CDs that come in cardboard or paper cases. Now you might think that this is an odd idea, as paper comes from trees and our forests are shrinking. However, between two options this is a better this is a better idea as using trees is better than using plastic. Trees are a renewable resource. Forests can, and are being re-planted while plastics made from petroleum which, as we all know is not only a non-renewable resource, but is the cause of many wars in the world.
It might cost a tad more to purchase new technology, but it is always cheaper in the long run for us, and the environment. The all pervasive nature of technology draws heavily from both environment and precious energy resources. An average PC wastes nearly half its power and the server consumes nearly one third. In addition, poor practices in disposal and recycling of technology products pose a hazard to the environment. However, technology is now gradually stepping up its green awareness and some of the biggest names in technology are leading this environmental push.
A simpler option, one should try Green Print that is www.printgreener.com. This is a tiny application that sifts through web pages and filters out the unwanted content before going to print.
As soon as the Green Print is installed the user will find two new entries in his printer list. The first one is called Green Print, which is the virtual printer that culls out waste pages. Basically, this application wedges itself between web browser (Internet Explorer or Fire fox) and printer, thus turning it self into a virtual printer. This means that instead of firing printouts to regular printer, it turns them over to Green Print. It will then checks for waste pages, cut them from the print list, and hand them over to the actual printer. Green Print also allows to save pages as a PDF file.
http://www.citeman.com/index.php/eco-friendly-cds-and-green-printing/
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