Recently, I received an email from the rad folks at Mondo letting me know they were doing a two-disc vinyl pressing of the Wall-E soundtrack. While I love the movie, my toddler LOOOOVES the movie, and will come running into the room anytime he hears the trumpet intro to La Vie En Rose, exclaiming, “WALL-E!”
So, I figured it would be a cool first vinyl to buy him for his fourth birthday. Never too early to start a pricey hobby, right? So, I went to the Mondo site to pre-order and found myself asking “What the fuck is ‘eco vinyl?’”
What I found led me down a rabbit hole of sustainability that would make Wall-E proud.
As Variety had reported earlier this year, vinyl records have been the leading album format for 17 years now. But they’re not exactly Mother Earth’s best friend.
The vinyl pellets used to press records is actually made from (gasp!) fossil fuels. The entire vinyl industry has traditionally been a big ol’ fuck you to environmentalism. Which makes for an interesting conundrum for environmental-friendly punks, hippies, and hip-hop heads around the world. Plus, records are not particularly recyclable. Your Pabst habit is far more sustainable than your limited-pressing addiction.
Traditional vinyl records are made from a type of plastic called polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which requires a petroleum base and a dash of chemicals to manufacture. Not to mention the energy-hungry process of pressing them into shape and the carbon footprint of shipping these beauties all over the world.
While not the end-all of sustainability, eco vinyl is certainly a step in the right direction. Eco vinyl is basically vinyl trimmings and leftover nuggets of other pressings. While normally chucked into the garbage, these leftovers find new life as murky pressings of new records.
The Mondo pressing of the “Wall-E” is the most self-aware usage of this that I have found. My forlorn little robot friend from the future is the ultimate recycler, so it makes perfect sense to press his soundtrack on eco vinyl. Mondo gets two thumbs up for that.
Some vinyl manufacturers like Pirate Press are advertising their use of eco-vinyl, and I am here for it.
Now, barring any exorbitant reseller fees (looking at you Record Store Day resellers. Get fucked.), buying used vinyl is the next best thing you can do to help minimize an environmental impact while still getting your analog fix. The damage has already been done through pressing, packaging, and shipping, so you aren’t screwing it up anymore, but you are helping what’s probably a pretty rad used record store.
Vinyl may not be the greenest choice in the world of music consumption, (but I don’t have the research budget to explore the environmental ramifications of Spotify’s servers), but with the rise of eco vinyl and a little conscientious effort, vinyl aficionados can start their kids on a journey that won’t wreck their future either.