BitLight LightHitParade: Old CDs Put to Good Use
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 11.18.05
Recycling CDs is not as easy as it should be, and they are definitely not landfill or incinerator-friendly, with their persistent plastic and ugly chemical characteristics. Artist Serghej Petrov has figured out a way to recycle them into art, without turning them into a disco ball or hanging collage over baby's crib. Check out his BitLight LightHitParade lamp; it has about 800 used CDs and creates a very cool ambient light source. He uses both an LED light source, which consumes only eight watts of power, and a cold cathode lamp, which is a little closer to 30 watts, but neither emit enough heat to be dangerous to the lamps artistic shell. This version stands 100 cm (a trifle over three feet), and he also has a suspended smaller version. The 100 cm version is available here. ::BitLight LightHitParade
Actually, recycling CDs is pretty easy. Check out www.greendisk.com. I've even found one of their "Techno Trash Cans" in one of my favorite Green stores (3R Living in Brooklyn, NY.)