Sugar cane instead of PVC: the environmentally friendly record is here
13.3.2024
Translation: machine translated
Vinyl is booming. The music carrier is therefore being produced in large quantities. But the material is harmful to the environment. A vinyl alternative is intended to provide a remedy and offers far more advantages than just the ecological aspect.
Plant-based vinyl: the advantages
Carey goes on to explain that, according to tests, 30 per cent of energy could be saved if a production plant were converted to Evovinyl. In addition, pressing a sheet takes 50 per cent less time. That saves an enormous amount of energy.
The material can still be pressed in black and any colour. What's more, Evovinyl does not become statically charged. And anyone who has ever had an LP on a record player knows how annoying the attraction of dust and dirt caused by static electricity can be.
Does compostable material last?
Don't worry, the record won't rot on your shelf. Evolution Music put their LPs through an ageing test in a test facility together with current PVC LPS. Both showed similar deterioration. So if you treat these records as lovingly as your previous ones, you have nothing to fear. Evolution Music even assumes that the sound quality will last longer due to the antistatic properties. However, this assumption will only be confirmed in the wild.
What about the music quality?
In addition, Evovinyl was tested by playing it repeatedly over a long period of time. No noticeable difference to PVC was found. The sound quality is therefore maintained even with repeated playback.
What's next?
Evolution Music has spent over five years on research and development to make Evovinyl ready for the market. But the material also needs to find buyers. The British speaker company PMC has now teamed up with Evolution Music and is contributing financially to its commercialisation.
The product is ready and major record companies are willing to participate. Not at all a matter of course: vinyl records have been produced from PVC since the 1980s. After all this time, it's not easy to knock such a tried and tested product off its throne. But nothing has changed for a record presser: Evovinyl can be processed on existing machines. The only thing that needs to be changed is the material. And the surplus from each pressing can be completely recycled.
Header image: Michelle Brändle
In my world, Super Mario chases Stormtroopers with a unicorn and Harley Quinn mixes cocktails for Eddie and Peter at the beach bar. Wherever I can live out my creativity, my fingers tingle. Or maybe it's because nothing flows through my veins but chocolate, glitter and coffee.
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