Disney Tries Recycling Disposable DVDs
Jan. 3O -- In this week's Cybershake, we note how the Walt Disney Co. has taken slightly a greener turn when it comes to throwaway DVDs. Plus, we highlight a one-stop online shop for election information.
A New Leaf for Disney's Disposable DVDs
Last September, the Walt Disney Co. — parent company of ABCNEWS — began testing a new concept in home entertainment: the disposable DVD.
Called the EZ-D, it uses technology developed by New York-based Flexplay Technologies. Once an EZ-D movie is unsealed from its package, oxygen begins to discolor the dye within the disk. Within 48 hours, the disk becomes an unplayable hunk of non-biodegradable plastic.
"We believe consumers will enjoy the convenience of a rental alternative that requires no extra trips to return product and no late fees," Bob Chapek, president of Buena Vista, said in a statement.
But environmentalists such as Emily Miggins says this is too much. "Cell phones are now becoming disposable, cameras," she says. "Do we need yet another disposable item?"
In Austin, Texas, one of the four test markets for the $7 disposable DVDs, environmentalists staged protests, urging Disney to mend its wasteful ways. And it seems Disney responded.
A postage-paid envelope is now included in the EZ-D packaging so expired disks can be sent off to GreenDisk, a Seattle-based company that recycles the plastic for use in cars parts and appliances.
Consumers can also go to FlexPlay's Web site (www.flexplay.com/recycle_programs.html) and print out postage-paid mailing labels to send back EZ-D disks that lack the mailer.
Both FlexPlay and Buena Vista have been mum about how many EZ-D disks have been sent in for recycling so far. Disney has also been quiet about whether the disposable DVD plan will expand beyond the 35 movie titles in the currently limited test markets.
— Larry Jacobs, ABCNEWS
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