Are audio and video tapes toxic waste?
Most audio and visual recording tapes, such as those that are
found in video cassettes and audio tapes, are not generally toxic.
All that the tape contains is a plastic/polymer embedded with a
metallic substance that aligns with magnetic fields and stays that
way after the magnetic field has passed. The reading device can
interpret this alignment of particles and translate it into an
audio/visual output signal. This is also why if you run a magnet
over the tape, it will be degaussed (erased).