You've heard of disposable dishes, cameras and even video cameras. But what about disposable DVDs?

No-return DVD rentals that essentially self-destruct within 48 hours after they are removed from their packaging are now rolling out at airports, travel centers and every Staples store across the country. Each location will offer about 25 new movie releases and, rather than return them, consumers can recycle them for free when they're done watching or just throw them out.

The DVDs, which were created by the Georgia-based company Flexplay Entertainment, look like regular discs, but they are made with a special glue that is sensitive to oxygen. Once the disc is exposed to air, a chemical reaction causes the glue to darken so the laser in the DVD player can no longer read the disc. Sealed discs can last for about one year. "It's like DVD on demand," says Joe Fuller, Flexplay's executive vice president of marketing. "You can get Flexplay at the store today, but your rental period doesn't actually start until you've opened the sealed package."

The company hopes these DVDs will appeal to business travelers who don't usually rent movies because their busy schedules make it hard to find time to return them. In addition to Staples, which has never offered movie rentals before, the discs will be for sale at Flexplay's own Web site, Travel Centers of America, Love's and at about 200 Hudson Group–owned newsstands at airports and travel hubs. "You can pick up a couple of movies and put it in your briefcase," Fuller says. "And the next time you are stuck at an airport, you can pop it in your DVD player or computer and you can enjoy a movie."

MOre info: http://metalatem.blogspot.com/2008/07/self-destructing-dvds-are-coming.html
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1817828,00.html?imw=Y