Posts Tagged ‘Greener’
Is CD Duplication Becoming Greener?
September 28, 2011 | 
Author We live in a world that is concerned about the environment. People are being more careful about the things that they do. It makes sense that this mindset would eventually reach the world of music reproduction. In this case, we are talking about CDs and the process of duplication.
Making an environmentally friendly compact disc is not an easy task. The very materials that are used to make them are not compatible with nature. However, there are some things that can be done to make the duplication process greener.
There is conscious level that is rising in the CD manufacturing community. Some of the changes that are being considered and suggested include using paper foam or cardboard packaging instead of the traditional plastic.
Another possibility is to use soy-based ink. The regular petroleum based inks are more desirable because of their faster drying time. Soy based inks dry slower and cost a little more. However, the trade off is better for the environment.
Still more strides are being made to make the process of creating the disc more eco-friendly. Some companies are using recycled plastics in manufacturing. They cannot use 100 percent recycled plastics in the disc, but they can use a good percentage of recycled materials to make the CDs.
Making the disc leaner and doing this by cutting the size of it in half makes it easier to pass through the scanning machines in the post office. The industry is also taking the regular CD packaging and reusing it to make packaging that is eco-friendly.
They are also using as much recycled material as possible on the front end, which is where they use only recyclable items and on the back end using discarded materials that can be reused for manufacturing CDs.
The general idea is that the music community wants to go green, and they are taking steps to make it happen. The main push is to find ways to make the process more green and eco friendly.
More and more companies are taking those extra steps to produce a quality item that is compatibility with our environment. They are very aware of the importance of not polluting the earth, and they take it seriously.
While the consensus indicates that it is impossible to make a completely environmentally friendly CD disc, the overall packaging can be made of environmentally friendly. Education and promotion are two ways that the industry is looking at supporting the move to green.
The CD Duplication industry will continue to look for ways to keep the distribution and manufacturing of CDs as eco-friendly as possible.
Posted in 
Tags: 
Computer Hardware ? Turn to the Greener Side
Many people know how to use a computer but only few are aware of the great need for disposing off the used parts of a computer, in a safe manner. Many IT organisations have failed to assume sufficient responsibility for the ultimate end of used PC. The first step to be taken towards greening the computer hardware should be initiated by the manufacturers and retailers end. Manufacturing and selling companies should take a closer look at the policy of the IT organisation, towards the PC and computer hardware take back, before even buying. They should also keep account of the Electronic Take back Coalition, and maintain a list of recyclers that have pledged to adhere to certain corporate responsibility standards, including incinerate e-waste.
Even the people who own computers at home should be not reckless regarding the disposition of their used computer hardware. They too should be conscious about utilizing waste in the right manner. The initial step is not to throw away any used or outdated computer hardware in the dumpster. Instead recycle it. Be it your hard drive, monitor, keyboard, mouse, or printer, one can dispose it by recycling it in the right manner. Today, there are many recycling centres like City of Lubbock Solid Waste Department in Texas. Here they inspect all the disposed parts of a computer to check whether any hardware is working or not. Special care is taken to assure hard drives are completely erased prior to refurbishing activities. They have their own group of engineers who refurbish these computer particles and offers them to the state agencies counties, cities or school districts at no charge.
Some other ways to make your computer hardware green are discussed below –
Green Search – Instead of using the Google search engine, use Blackle.com. This is an eco friendly site that works on black resolution, thus saving less energy that is consumed by the white resolution. Further there is option for switching to black wallpapers and screen savers that consume lesser power than white or colored backgrounds.
Use LCD Screen – Replacing your CRT monitors with LCD screen will help you save up to 70% of electricity and the lifespan of the LCD is also twice more than the CRT.
Optimise Your PC’s Power Setting With iYogi Toolbar – One can optimize energy consumption of a PC by switching it to the power saving mode. For this one can take the help of Yogi Green PC tool bar that can be installed on all Windows-based systems.
Switch to Vista Green – Power consumption in Windows Vista is less than in Windows XP. Switching off to that mode will help one saving a lot of energy.
Last but not the least, always remember to shut down the monitor when not in use. Always remember to unplug all the input as well as storage devices to save power.
Its time for everyone to realize the environment hampering that are caused by throwing the e particles into waste bins. The impact of that negligence on the environment worldwide can be huge. It is estimated that around 1.8 billion pounds of PCs are retired worldwide each year, but only about half —865 million pounds—are processed by recyclers, as per the report issued International Data Corp. Although some of the remaining 900 million pounds of computer hardware is rebuilt or reused, much of it is just plain discarded into landfills or incinerated. Incorporate the above few points, the next time you are thinking of discarding these unused or old parts of your computer.