CD recycling research. CD being cut into smaller pieces and placed in a vial as part of a recycling process being developed by IBM Research. CDs (compact discs) are made from a type of plastic known as polycarbonate that is difficult to safely recycle. The process developed here uses a fluoride reactant and heat to convert the CDs into a plastic powder. Photographed in April 2016, at the Almaden laboratory in San Jose, California, USA.