To get rid of your vinyl records you’ll have a hard time recycling them. There are few willing recyclers. Before you dispose of your vinyl you can try upcycling or reselling. Finally you’re left with waste disposal. Your vinyl will end up in a landfill, which isn’t as bad for the environment as you might think.
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Introduction – Vinyl Record Disposal
Eventually you’ll find yourself with vinyl records that you need to get rid of. Preferably you’d sell them or gift them someone close to you. This isn’t always an option though.
If an LP has degraded to a point that it’s no longer usable barely anyone would spend any money on it. Unless it’s some very rare record, but those are easy to sell on Discogs for example.
This article will focus on disposing of the unwanted and worthless vinyl.
Are Vinyl Records Recyclable?
I’ve written another article that goes into whether or not vinyl records are recyclable. If you’re interested in the details, check it out here.
The conclusion of that article was pretty much that it’s technically hard to recycle vinyl records and that you’ll have a very hard time finding a recycler that’s willing to take your vinyl record waste and do anything useful with it.
That same article also covers some alternatives to recycling, like upcycling and reselling. But I can image you don’t have the time or energy for this. So then the final option is record disposal.
Vinyl Waste Disposal
If you haven’t been able to find any vinyl record recyclers or people that want them either, then it’s probably time to just throw your vinyl records in the trash, and that’s okay. You can still recycle the cardboard sleeves if you feel guilty about not recycling your vinyl.
Throwing your vinyl records in the trash can will likely result to them being dumped on a landfill. You might feel bad about that, but landfills have the stigma of bad for the environment associated with them.
Landfills aren’t necessarily as bad as you might assume for vinyl records. Modern landfills do negatively impact the environment, but mainly because of the decomposable products releasing greenhouse gasses. Vinyl will barely contribute to this.
Conclusion – Vinyl Record Disposal
So to conclude, you’ll have a very hard time finding a recycler that will take your unwanted vinyl. There are some alternatives like upcycling and reselling, or charity, but this isn’t always an option. Your final option is throwing your records in the trash can. Your vinyl will now probably end up on a landfill, which isn’t as bad for the environment as you might’ve assumed.
I hope that helped you out. If you’re interested in my other educational articles check them out here!
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