DVD+R Discs

[shaftoe]

I'm a total noob, and this may be a stupid question, but I read the following:

What is the construction ofDVD-R and DVD+R discs?
DVD-R and DVD+R discs can be either single or double-sided. A single-sided (SS) disc is composed of a recording side and a dummy side while a double-sided (DS) disc consists of two recording sides. The recording side of a DVD-R and DVD+R disc is a sandwich of a number of layers. First comes a polycarbonate plastic substrate containing a shallow spiral groove extending from the inside to the outside diameter of the disc. A DVD-R disc additionally includes pits and lands on the areas between the coils of the groove (land pre-pits). Added to this substrate is an organic dye recording layer (azo, cyanine, dipyrromethene or others) followed by a metal reflective layer (silver, silver alloy, gold). The dummy side of a single-sided disc consists of an additional flat polycarbonate plastic substrate (sometimes with an additional metal layer to obscure the bonding layer from view for aesthetic purposes). An adhesive then bonds two recording sides (for a double-sided) or a recording and dummy side (for a single-sided) together into the final disc. Some single-sided discs are also topped on the dummy side with decorations or additional layers that provide surfaces suitable for labeling by inkjet, thermal transfer or re-transfer printers.

I have several hundred of these discs that are already burned, so they are useless to anyone else. I wondered if there was a practical way to get metal out of them, and if so, how? Thanks!

 

[Marcel]

I have played around with them and I can tell you: If they are silvercoated (which they ussually are) forget it.
The carry around 15mg of metal so 6 pcs will make up 1 gramm. If that metal is silver you can estimate, wheter it is worth the try or not.

In addition the metal layer is ver well sealed inside, other than the CD-Rs where you could reach the layer from one side at least.

Marcel

 

[joem]

My recycler buys them by the pound. It seems a guide to go by is 08 cents a pound. If you don't have a buyer them save them someone will show up one day.

 

[resabed01]

I've noticed CD-R discs have the reflective layer on the top surface of the disc, usually protected by the silkscreen printing.
DVD-R discs have a different construction. The reflective layer is embedded in the center and sandwiched between two thin discs. I've also noticed it's easy to seperate the two outer layers by simply flexing the disc. This breaks the bond between the layers and allows the disc to peel apart.
Incineration would not be the way to deal with these. I imagine it would create a lot of unneccessary pollution.
I haven't processed these, just an observation I've made.

 

[g_axelsson]

The carry around 15mg of metal so 6 pcs will make up 1 gramm. If that metal is silver you can estimate, wheter it is worth the try or not.

That should be 60 discs per gram.

/Göran

 

[Pantherlikher]

The carry around 15mg of metal so 6 pcs will make up 1 gramm. If that metal is silver you can estimate, wheter it is worth the try or not.

That should be 60 discs per gram.

/Göran

Shoot.... I toss thousands all the time... I goto auctions and you'd be supprised how much you get in box lots. Everything from hair dryers to CDs to copper & brass. Loads of gold trimmed glassware as well. My new wife is lucky coke glasses don't have gold on them. She's into the hundreds of glasses by now.