A British firm says it has produced the world’s first bioplastic vinyl record, which it hopes will reduce the need for highly toxic PVC.
Bioplastics are derived from sources such as sugars and starches, rather than oil or gas, and do not generate toxic waste in their production.
The new bioplastic vinyl from the British firm Evolution Music has been endorsed by the NGO Music Declares Emergency, a climate change campaign group created in 2019 by artists and professionals in the music industry.
“If Evolution can offer a guilt-free alternative vinyl, it could completely get rid of one of the key pollutants in the music industry,” NGO co-founder Lewis Jamieson told Agence France-Presse.
Currently, all vinyl records are made of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, described by Greenpeace as “the most environmentally harmful plastic”, the production of which releases toxic chlorine-based chemicals that are accumulating in water, air and the food chain “. “
The problem has come to the fore thanks to the recent boom in vinyl sales, which topped $ 1 billion last year in the United States alone (the first since the mid-1980s).
Few expected the rebirth of vinyl that began in the mid-2000s, so record labels found themselves struggling to secure PVC, often relying on foreign companies with poor security records.
Kyle Devine, who wrote a book on the music industry’s environmental impact, “Decomposed,” said the 90 percent PVC of U.S. vinyls in 2015 came from a Thai company that was “dumping pollution in the Bangkok River “.
“PVC is a particularly nasty plastic to make. It is difficult to dispose of, recycle or decompose,” he told AFP, adding that it would be wrong to see the current dominance of real-time playback and digital music as an answer to the industry problem. climate impact.
“Digital data still takes up space and consumes energy. In fact, given the current size and expansion of the music industry, it’s likely to be more serious than ever,” Devine said.
Evolution released the first 20 albums made with bioplastic through a raffle of prizes: a compilation of young artists such as the electro duo Bicep and the American singer Angel Olsen.
It has taken almost five years of testing due to the delays caused by the COVID pandemicbut the company says they are close to matching the usual records.
“It presses the same as PVC,” co-founder Marc Carey said. “The final piece of the puzzle is that there’s a bit of surface noise when you play the record, so we’re working on that. We think we’re two weeks away from finishing the recipe.”
Music Declares Emergency is clear that changing the production of vinyl records will do little for the overall picture climate changebut Jamieson said these innovations were symbolically important.
“Remind people that thinking about sustainability doesn’t mean you have to live in a mud shack and not have fun,” he said.
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