At a nickel or a dime apiece, blank CDs and DVDs are affordable enough to use and lose without much regret — but not to the environment. Most of us already recycle paper, cans, and bottles, so why not add CDs and DVDs to our growing list of recyclables?

Organizations such as the CD Recycling Center of America (www.cdrecyclingcenter.org) make it easy to learn about disc recycling and starting your own campaign at home or at work — it provides the logo, a plan, the promotional materials, and a place to send the discs. The free membership allows you to keep all your unwanted, damaged, or obsolete discs out of landfills and incinerators, and instead recycle the plastic used in the discs into everyday items such as household products, building materials, and auto parts. So think before you toss that demo CD you listened to only once, or that CD-ROM press kit from last year's trade show.