Ez-Ds Displease Recycling Director

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. -- While manufacturers love the 48-hour disposability of Disney's new ez-Ds discs, their recyclability has been met with mixed reviews.

The discs could last forever -- as long as they're encased in their airtight package. But when the ez-D is exposed to air, the bottom of the disc slowly oxidizes to the point where the DVD laser can't read the disc anymore. The ez-Ds are designed for people who don't want to be bothered with going to a video or grocery store, waiting in line to check out a movie and returning the disc the next day.

Summit Recycling Project director Carly Wier is not pleased with yet another disposable product on the market. "This doesn't place any responsibility on the manufacturer," she said. "I think it's crap. It all relies on local communities, nonprofits and consumers to find out how to get this darn thing recycled. It's another instance of manufacturers spewing out products without thinking of their end of life."

People who take long road trips are also target clients, said Larry Reiff, account executive with Trylon Communications in New York, which manufactures the discs. "People can stock up on a handful of them," he said. "That's why they're sold at gas stations and convenience stores."

Reiff acknowledges that some people will toss the expired discs. "That's why, before the discs were even on the shelves, Disney developed an aggressive recycling program," Reiff said, adding that people who return six discs will get a free movie of their choice.

To make it easier to recycle the discs, the company has a variety of ways the viewer can return them to GreenDisk Services in Columbia, Mo. Viewers can drop them off at local recyclers or mail them to GreenDisk Services. The company even offers free, prepaid and preprinted envelopes on its Web site at www.ez-d.com.

The discs debuted last September in Peoria, Ill.; Austin, Texas; Bloomington, Ind.; and Charleston, S.C. They've recently debuted at 7-Eleven, Loaf 'n Jug and Phillips 66 stores in Phoenix, San Antonio, Texas, Florida and the Denver area, including Summit County.
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