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The Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 04. 5.07
Design & Architecture (less is more)

cd-spindle-reuse-01.jpg

A clever example of the second "R", via Reddit and Flickr.

There's a big debate in the comments on Reddit on whether the plastic used for CD spindles is safe or not... Any plastic experts around here? Please enlighten us in the comments.

Comments (17)

Genius!

jump to top Parenthesis says:

I am by no means a plastic expert but im pretty sure that most depends on the plastic # inside the recycle symbol. 5 is the typical food container, 3 is vinyl which is not food safe i hear and 7 i think is not food grade either.

jump to top alex says:

great idea! and fortunately, all of the CD spindles i know of are number 5, so double yeah!

jump to top jared says:

Unbelievable. You damn geniuses at Treehugger... That's so great, I can't wait to get off work and go home and put that together.

jump to top Mikey says:

ohh i like this.. very clever, I should have done this post for my site.. but atleast you given me an idea ;)

Everyday Weekender

@alex

my CD spindles are #5 plastic...

yay CD spindle bagel sandwiches!

jump to top MikeD says:

I'm not an expert, but a chemist and I did go to a session on migration of chemicals from plastics into food.

Basically, I think plastics made for food containers have to characterize the chemicals that can transfer from the plastic to the food, the compounds are then considered food additives.

So none of these tests have happened on the CD spindel case. Chances are that its still ok becuase it would be polyethylene or something like that (probably not vinyl). But then it should probably be washed very well at first, and not put in the dishwasher (or extreme hot water). Some blank DVDs and CDs contain azo compounds which I don't think are all that great to ingest, and certain plastics are not designed for reapeated washing in hot water which can make them break down and release more chemicals (plastic water bottles for instance can realease more aresnic after hot water washing as small amounts of aresnic are used as catalysts for polymerization.

Please note that is all off the top of my head, and not well researched.

jump to top mike says:

My CD spindle is #6 - not great. But, actually its about as good or better that #1 which are water bottles.

From my reading the safest plastics are #2, 4, 5.

jump to top Anonymous says:

I looked on the container for my margarine and it was a 5, so I'm assuming its food safe.

jump to top Anonymous says:

actually i just read the living green about living a sustainable lifestyle and plastics actually leech a lot of toxins into everything. im not quite remembering all the information but i know that much.

jump to top nicole says:

Plastics sold for food contact must have additives specifically approved for that purpose. The recycle number indicates nothing in that regard. Plastics will have such things as impact modifiers, UV absorbers, anti-oxidants, fillers, oxygen scavengers, softeners, and so on. Sometimes these add up to a significant weight percent. Those additives suitable for food contact may not be the least expensive of the choices, hence there is a chance that using a container not approved for food contact may result in migration of a hazardous substance into the food, especially as the plastic gets older or if the food is oily and/or acidic (tomato sauce for example). To reiterate, the number is not a reliable indicator of safety for food contact.

jump to top JL says:

Well no-one ever died of chewing the end of pens, or making a sandwitch after handeling CDs... and I'm no expert but the amound of bagles stored in CD spindles that you would have to consume for any trace elements to have an adverse effect on your body would probably be a hellova lot of bagles... in which case more harm would be done to your body by having to eat so many of one thing that isn't particulaly good for you anyway!

jump to top kinl says:

Clever idea, this one. Hope it really is appropriate for food, though. I'm already considering putting cookies in one of these!

jump to top Lynn says:

Any chance of CD-spindle shaped bread pans or cookie cutters? I could see myself making entire meals oriented solely along those grounds.

jump to top Brian says:

I'm going to make pancakes to carry in all of my empty jewel cases...

jump to top Jay [TypeKey Profile Page] says:

Heh, ok. Extra uses. Perhaps after meticulously cleaning out a series of them. Size not being a key to this project. You then proceed to fill each with a different color of jello. After they set you take some dental floss and cut each color into round discs. You may see where I'm headed with this. You then, carefully, take a disc from each color and assemble a new spindle of discs. You now have a great gag dessert for you next lan party or whatever party you may be attending.

jump to top Tony says:

I have read that plastics #1 and 2 are the food-safe options. The article went on to explain that the other plastics can leech chemicals into the food, or something to that effect.

jump to top Anonymous says:

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