How to Reuse Your Old CDs

The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said it best when he stated: “Music is the universal language of mankind.”

That’s why music today is something we can all appreciate, just like the preservation of the environment.

And even though more and more people are downloading music from places like iTunes and Napster, there is still a large amount of us who stick to purchasing CDs.

The bad thing about buying CDs is all the excess paper and plastic packaging that comes with them, not to mention that millions are thrown away every year.

The good thing is that we can recycle and reuse almost every part of our old CDs.

Here are a few creative ways you can recycle your old CDs:

Artwork

Take your old CDs and create a piece of original art on a canvas, or use your favorite CD covers and create a unique collage.

Stack your old plastic CD drums, drill a few holes and add your own decoration to make a flower pot, like the one here.

Headphone Holder

Use the bottom of your CD drum (the part with the middle spindle) and tape it up to use as a headphone holder, as seen here.

Coasters

Decorate them with stickers or glitter, put some cork on the bottom of them, and use them as coasters.

Paint Palette

If you’re an artist, use the small circular discs as paint palettes. They’re easy to wash off and you can even use a few at a time.

Bike Reflectors

Tape them to your bicycle wheels and use them as reflectors.

Picture Holders

Stick your favorite picture into the clear CD case, fold over the base and use it as a picture frame.

Candle Holder

Place an old CD on the bottom of a candle to catch any dripping wax.

This is a really cool website from Jim Watters that shows how he made a lamp out of a stack of CDs and a fluorescent bulb.

Bagel/Donut Holder

This picture from Flickr.com says it all!

Wall/Window/Mirror Border

If you have enough to go around your bedroom, use them like a wallpaper border, or decorate the edges of your windows or mirrors.

Of course, if you’re not very creative and you just want to recycle your CDs, you can send them to SecondLifeDisc.com for free.

The company located in Ventura, California takes all of your old CDs, plastic cases and even DVD cases and recycles them into plastic parts for the automotive and building industry.

Every person around the world shares the love of music, so if you happen to have a few old CDs that you’re thinking of throwing away, then recycle them or make them into something fun and unique.