Amidst the modern age of streaming services and digital sales, vinyl records have somehow made a comeback.
In the United States, vinyl album sales have grown for the 14th consecutive year since the resurgence began in 2006. With 9.2 million sales in 2020, up by 11.2% when compared to 2019’s 8.3 million in sales, it’s safe to say that vinyl is here to stay. For now.
Unfortunately, as much as we love it, vinyl is not sustainable. Why? Because it is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a synthetic resin derived from chlorine and petroleum.
Not only is the extraction of petroleum (simply known as oil) harmful to the environment, the local population and workers at factories that produce Vinyl chloride used to make PVC are at an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer (hepatic angiosarcoma), as well as lymphoma and leukemia.
Highly toxic dioxins are also created as a byproduct of PVC manufacturing. The United States Environmental Protection Agency states that dioxins can cause cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, damage to the immune system, and can interfere with hormones.
“PVC contaminates humans and the environment throughout its lifecycle during its production, use, and disposal,” says Greenpeace. “While all plastics pose serious threats to human health and the environment, few consumers realize that PVC is the single most environmentally damaging of all plastics.”
Sadly, it gets even worse. According to Pitchfork, the conventional pressing process of vinyl records involves the use of steam boiler-powered machinery fueled by non-renewable fossil energy. On top of that, the water used is treated with anti-corrosive chemicals in order to prevent rusting, resulting in contaminated wastewater.
Hazardous chemical additives such as carbon black, a by-product from the burning of petroleum substances, are also often used as a stabilizing agent to improve structural integrity and limit degradation of vinyl records.
“Vinyl record is not the most ecological product in the world,” admits Michal Sterba, CEO of GZ Media, the world’s largest producer of vinyl records. “A lot of steam, a lot of chilling, questionable process during the galvanics, the compound itself contains PVC, [it’s] very difficult to recycle in the end.”
Last year, Canadian producer Jayda G released her debut album, Significant Changes, on vinyl in addition to the usual digital platforms. The fine print states that the vinyl’s packaging is carbon neutral. How? By donating record sales to a clean water project in Odisha, India. According to ClimatePartner, a total of 1,024 kilograms of CO2 has been offset by Significant Changes.
While offsetting CO2 emissions is a great start, it’s far from perfect. It is imperative to solve the root problem of vinyl records.
One example of much-needed innovation came from Toronto-based company Viryl and their electric-powered, boiler-free pressing system. By cutting out the use of fossil fuels, boiler chemicals and runoff, and drastically reducing water usage, Viryl achieved what few imagined possible and took one bold step towards sustainability.
That being said, there is still much to do. Based on current trends, vinyl records will continue to see an increase in sales and the music industry must do its part to ensure that the environment outweighs profits.
