Vinyls are back in vogue, now let’s make them eco-friendly

A UK company is making bioplastic records to help decarbonise the music business. Vinyl records are mostly made from carbon-intensive PVC

Music business and climate change. We rarely talk about the two together. But new studies show that music concerts and tours are a big source of plastic pollution and, as streaming and downloading music becomes the norm, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are rising sharply.

Even the good ol’ vinyls are not without their share of problems. Research suggests that the sale of 4.1 million records would produce at least 1,900 tonnes of CO2, given that they are made of and wrapped in plastic.

But a UK-based firm says a sugar-based alternative to vinyl could help to decarbonise the music industry.

Evolution Music says the bioplastic it has developed can be used to create records and is aimed at making it easy for labels and artists to stop using plastic without altering record pressing plants’ existing machinery or production processes.

Acting CEO of Evolution Music Marc Carey said sonically and in terms of equalisation the music recorded on the bioplastic records is “absolutely spot on.”

“We’ve got a unique recipe, but we are a (research and development) company. We’ll carry on with iterations of R&D to improve it,” he said.

Recording artists will be keen to change to bioplastic for their physical products, according to Music Declares Emergency (MDE), a music industry climate action campaign group that started as a declaration by nearly 3,000 artists ranging from Napalm Death to Julian Lloyd Webber.

“The production of vinyl is toxic in very many ways and there are all kinds of processes in it that are damaging to the environment, but we like vinyl. What’s the solution? Find a non-toxic way of doing it,” said Lewis Jamieson, a co-founder of MDE.

Sales of vinyl records have been growing over the past decade despite the popularity and instant access to digital media, and easy-to-use streaming sites such as Google and Spotify.

A richer sound, cover art and the ability to cradle a vinyl record in the hands contribute to the growing emotional appeal for LPs. “The music industry, the creative arts, should be at the forefront of innovation ... and typically, cultural change is what affects political and social change,” Carey said.

The first record made using Evolution’s bioplastic was pressed at Press On Vinyl, a record manufacturer in Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England. It features a piece by electronic duo Bicep.

Carey said he believes as soon as one major recording artist or band opts to use bioplastic instead of vinyl, the industry will never be the same.

(With inputs from Reuters.)