Who Do Donated DVDs, CDs and Games Help?
Shelves of DVDs and CDs often go untouched once a household switches to streaming, when they could still bring entertainment to someone else. Understanding how donating dvds helps shows that a simple clear-out can support people, raise money for charity and reduce waste. This guide from Anglo Doorstep Collections explains the difference your donated DVDs and media make.
- People who play them next
- Your chosen charity
- Local jobs
- Less waste
Easy to give, still wanted. DVDs, CDs and video games are easy to donate and still in demand. They are rarely worn out, they take up space once they are no longer played, and a free doorstep collection means you can pass them on without a trip anywhere.
1 · People
Where your donated media goes
When you donate DVDs and media through our free doorstep collection service, they are taken back to our warehouse and sorted by hand. From there we pass on what can be used again, so it reaches people who want it. A film, an album or a game that has been enjoyed and set aside becomes entertainment for someone else.
This keeps watchable and playable media in use rather than in landfill. Not everyone has fast internet or a streaming subscription, so physical media remains genuinely useful, and the contents of one shelf clear-out can reach well beyond your home.
The full journey, from your doorstep to the sorting tables, is on what happens to my CDs and DVDs?
Films, music and games for less
Affordable entertainment for others
Films, music and games are a simple, everyday pleasure. Physical media offers an affordable, reliable way to enjoy them without needing a subscription or a fast connection. Passing on the discs you no longer play helps make that entertainment available to others, including families who appreciate a low-cost option.
Clearing out media you have finished with also frees up living-room space, and it is far better for those discs to keep being enjoyed than to sit unused or go in a bin.
Films for family nights
Children’s films and educational films are some of the most wanted discs. They get watched again and again, long after your own children have moved on.
Music to own
An album on CD can be played in the car, the kitchen or a bedroom stereo, with no monthly fee and no signal needed.
Games to play again
Video game discs, along with rare and retro discs, are always sought after. See donating video games.
Still in demand
Why physical media is still wanted
It is easy to assume that streaming has made DVDs and CDs obsolete, but that is far from true. Reliable, fast internet is not available everywhere, streaming subscriptions cost money every month, and many people simply prefer to own the films and music they love. Children’s films, box sets and music collections all remain popular in physical form.
That is why donated media is genuinely valued rather than redundant. A collection built up over years can give a great deal of low-cost entertainment to households that would not otherwise have it. Rather than assuming your old discs are no longer wanted, it is well worth passing them on so they can be enjoyed again.
2 · Charity
How donating media supports charity
Donated media also raises money for good causes. After costs, a large percentage of the proceeds from the items we collect goes to our partnered charities, which include Action for Children, Advance, the RSPCA and Together for Short Lives. When you book a collection you can also choose to have a tree planted through Ecologi.
You choose the charity when you book, and every collection adds to the total our donors have raised.
Action for Children
Practical help and protection for children and young people across the UK.
Advance
Free, confidential support for women, including women facing danger at home.
RSPCA
Rescuing, caring for and rehoming animals in need.
Together for Short Lives
Support for seriously ill children and their families.
So a box of DVDs and CDs does two jobs at once. The discs go on to be enjoyed again, and the proceeds become real support for children, families, animals and the environment.
3 · Jobs
People in work
Every collection is work for real people: the drivers who collect from your street and the team at our warehouse who sort every disc by hand. Your CD and DVD doorstep donations help create employment locally, and the people doing that work learn new skills along the way.
Community
Groups that can use them
Some of the discs we sort are made available to charities and community centres that need them, where a film night or a box of music costs them nothing.
4 · The planet
The environmental side of donating media
DVDs, CDs and games are made largely from plastics that are slow to break down and difficult to dispose of well. As streaming has grown, large collections of discs have been discarded while still perfectly playable. Donating media keeps it in use, avoids that waste and makes the most of what has already been produced. It is a small, easy choice that supports the wider goal of keeping usable items in circulation.
By our own estimate, every kilo of discs and games used again instead of made new saves around 2 kg of CO2e. Try the green calculator to see roughly what your clear-out could save, and read how donating CDs and DVDs helps the planet and why old CDs and DVDs shouldn’t go in the bin.
Before you pack
What media you can donate
Reusable home media is welcome, including DVDs, Blu-ray films, music CDs, video games and boxed television series. The main requirement is condition: discs should be in a playable state and ideally kept in their cases, because the aim is to re-home them for genuine reuse. Keeping box sets together and packing media into small, firm boxes makes collection day quick and easy.
We collect
- DVDs and Blu-ray films
- Music CDs
- Video games
- Boxed television series
We can’t take
- VHS and cassette tapes
- Records and record players
- CD and DVD racks
The full list is on what CDs, DVDs and games can I donate?, and booking and packing are on how do I donate my CDs and DVDs? You can add books and other things to the same collection: see everything we collect.
Related reading
Related reading
To learn more about how your donations help and the difference reuse makes, explore the guides below.
Ready when you are
Donate your DVDs and media today
Donating DVDs and media is a simple way to help people, support charity and reduce waste, all from one easy collection. The films, music and games you no longer play can go on to entertain someone else while doing good along the way.
If you have DVDs and media ready to pass on, browse our Charity Collections Near You page and book a free doorstep collection. Box everything up, leave it out on the day, and we will take care of the rest.
Leave your boxes or tied bags out by 7am on your collection day. You don’t need to be in.
Ready to donate your CDs, DVDs and games?
It’s free, you don’t need to be at home, and you choose the charity your donation supports.