Evovinyl is a plant-based plastic used for making phonograph albums. It’s been around for a few years and seems to check all the boxes. It appears to work well with existing players and, more importantly, works well with record manufacturing equipment.

The EvoVinyl album demonstrated by Evolution Music’s Marc Carey is made primarily from sugarcane. Source: https://evolution-music.co.uk

 

An EvoVinyl album doesn’t require listeners to invest in a new turntable, while manufacturers could look forward to significant time and money savings at the pressing plant. Source: https://evolution-music.co.uk/

Vinyl records didn’t become popular until after World War II. Prior to that, they were bio-based mostly made from shellac. However, the bio-based chain doesn’t stop there. The molds used for pressing records are created from a “master” recording made in the studio. These masters need to be of the highest quality and are also bio-based, made with nitrocellulose.

This does make me wonder about material selection for records. Nitrocellulose is clearly the best option for sound reproduction but it has a lot of serious problems, extreme flammability being just one. Vinyl was chosen as it was cheap and worked well, but is it really the “best” choice for sound reproduction, especially for an audiophile? What mechanical properties are needed to really get the stylus (needle) of a record player humming?
It’s established that heavier albums sound better, but I don’t think the material has been optimized. This is challenging, since you need access to record-pressing equipment. 3D-printing albums is not possible (at present), although I think you might be able to make one with a single or small set of tones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author: John Spevacek

Source: https://www.plasticstoday.com/sustainability/this-earth-day-supporter-gave-us-plastic