Music may be the food of love - but does it make the world greener?

Although streaming remains the most popular way people listen to music, old formats like cassettes and vinyl have both seen an increase in sales. In fact, vinyl has seen a remarkable sales increase of 1,427% since 2007, selling around around 4m LPs in 2018 in the UK alone. Since the popularity of vinyl shows no signs of stopping soon, this means that more non-recyclable discs will be manufactured – which could have a negative impact on the environment.

Although album covers are generally made of recyclable cardboard, records were originally made of shellac, before non-recyclable vinyl was used as a replacement. Shellac is a natural resin secreted by the female Kerria lacca bug, which was scraped from trees to produce gramophone records. Since shellac isn’t from fossil fuel-derived feedstock (chemicals, such as ethylene, used to make substances like plastic), its carbon footprint was lower than that of modern records. 

Shellac records were brittle and prone to water and alcohol damage though, so PVC plastic records were developed to last longer. In ideal conditions (low oxygen, without movement), discarded PVC could take centuries to decompose. However, the environmental...