Biodegradable CDs will start selling at the end of this year

Biodegradable CDs will start selling at the end of this year:

Sanyo Electric has developed an optical disc based on a polymer derived from corn which, the company says, is as sturdy as current plastic discs but will biodegrade when disposed of.

The discs have been designed to tackle a problem common to many plastics upon disposal: If burned, toxic gases can be released into the atmosphere causing health and global warming concerns; but if buried, they don't break down, causing a potential problem for future generations. The MildDisc will degrade after a period of about 50 to 100 years and break down into water and carbon dioxide, Watson [a Tokyo-based spokesperson for Sanyo] said. This time span means users don't have to worry about losing information during the lifetime of the discs, he said

(from PC World, via Yahoo News).