World’s first bioplastic vinyl record, made from ‘sugars and starches’, launched in UK

The first vinyl records made of bioplastic will hopefully replace the need for the toxic PVC ones. A British company claims it produced the bioplastic records using materials other than oil or gas, like sugars and starches, and added that bioplastics don’t generate any toxic waste during the manufacturing process.
The climate change advocacy NGO Music Declares Emergency, created in 2019 by musicians and other industry professionals, has endorsed the new bioplastic vinyl from the UK company Evolution Music.
“If Evolution can deliver an alternative to guilt-free vinyl, it could get rid of one of the key polluting elements of the music industry completely,” the NGO’s co-founder Lewis Jamieson said.
Toxic, chlorine-based compounds are released during the production of PVC, which Greenpeace describes as the “most environmentally destructive material” and which is currently used to make all vinyl records. These chemicals are “building up in the water, air, and food chain.”
The recent surge in vinyl sales, which exceeded $1 billion in only the United States last year, has brought the issue to light (a first since the mid-1980s).
Few predicted the mid-2000s vinyl rebirth, thus record labels were forced to scramble to obtain PVC, frequently depending on foreign producers with questionable safety records.
Kyle Devine, who wrote a book on the environmental impact of the music industry, “Decomposed”, said the PVC for 90 percent of US vinyls in 2015 came from a Thai company that was “pouring pollution into the Bangkok river”.
“PVC is an especially nasty plastic to make. It’s a difficult one to dispose of, to recycle or decompose,” he said.
The current dominance of streaming and digital music, he continued, should not be interpreted as a solution to the climate impact of the music industry.
“Digital data still consumes energy and takes up space. In fact, considering the scale and scope of the music industry now, it probably has a greater environmental impact than ever before,” Devine remarked.
Through a prize draw, Evolution distributed the first 20 bioplastic records, which featured a collection of up-and-coming musicians like the electro duo Bicep and American singer Angel Olsen.
Due to the Covid pandemic’s delays, testing has taken over five years; nonetheless, the company claims they are almost at regular records.

(With inputs from agencies)

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