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How to dispose of ruined vinyl LPs for the most environmentally clean way ..

I always understood that when they had faulty discs pressing plants would punch out the centre label and grind up the rest to make more records, I suppose that there could be a contamination issue with old discs.
 
Mr Pig said:
Neither did I. I assumed it could be melted down and made into...new records at least.
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I remember coming across a bunch of bootlegs from eastern Europe in the mid 80s... they were clearly made from old records that had been melted down and repressed, because bits of the old labels were visible in the vinyl. Essentially unplayable, of course.
 
Big Tabs said:
Charity shops do not want unplayable records - all that would do is pass on the problem.

As discussed on another thread, classical vinyl records do not sell very well through regular channels, so damaged classical records are useless to a charity shop.

I have tried many times to sell mint rare and expensive (Discogs valuation) classical records in the charity shop that I volunteer for, and they don’t sell. Dead stock that takes up valuable space.

I have priced classical L.P’s at 10p each, and they still do not sell.

nowadays, I save them up and try and give them away.

The sleeves and inners sometimes can be recycled, but not always.

Last year I must have put 100’s of classical albums plus unsellable ‘easy listening’ records in the bin.

Anything with a slim chance of a low sale I pass on to other charity shops, but anything scratched/ruined go in the bin.
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I didn't know. I last visited before C19 when anything was selling for 1 or 2 pounds.
I guess this puts a gloomy perspective on the future on Vinyl all round?
 
kasperhauser said:
I remember coming across a bunch of bootlegs from eastern Europe in the mid 80s... they were clearly made from old records that had been melted down and repressed, because bits of the old labels were visible in the vinyl. Essentially unplayable, of course.
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Recycled vinyl was very common in the US in the ‘70s and the UK in the ‘80s (especially for budget reissues). I guess it is why the term ‘virgin vinyl’ was coined later on for more upmarket releases as the assumption in the early CD era was most vinyl was recycled and of a lower quality. Some labels are releasing stuff on recycled vinyl as a green point these days, e.g. this release from Maisha and the upcoming Binker & Moses. The Maisha sounds great, I’ll report back on the Binker & Moses once it’s released (I have it on pre-order).
 
Rockmeister said:
I didn't know. I last visited before C19 when anything was selling for 1 or 2 pounds.
I guess this puts a gloomy perspective on the future on Vinyl all round?
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It has been like that for years.
charity shops with high footfall in city locations might do better with classical records, but I seriously doubt it.

The Rock and Pop albums sell very well, and the charity shop that I stock sells quite a few Singles over a year.
I price 45’s from 25p up to £5+ in the shop. Sold a copy of The Kinks ‘You Really Got Me’ for £4 last week.
If anything, I sell more now than ever, folks come back frequently if the records are clean and priced competitively.
 
Isn't there a company that pays 10p a record or 10p a kilo just like the ones that buy clothes that way? Pass on the problem to the professionals and make a few pence at the sane time. Can't they melt them down into lilo's or something? Whatever you do I bet they end up in high temperature incineration which will at least recover some of the energy as heat.
 
Local to me, Black bin waste goes to Incineration for power generation. The OP is in Herefordshire - which I am pretty sure uses the same incinerator - located on the same industrial estate that I work at!
Plenty of energy in PVC!
 
Thanks for all the replies.

Incineration is the way to go I think.

It is quite strange that there is an absolute division in the condition of these LPs. Some are simply finished and some are very close to mint. Fortunately for me the music I like the least [or in some rare cases don't like at all] are the wrecks and my favourite, smaller scaled and more classical ones seem often perhaps to have been played once. Suits me fine.

Interestingly some of the good ones are LPs I bought myself, and gave to the person who has given me the collection now, way back in 1992 when I sold most of LPs [ninety-nine per cent] to a dealer in Birmingham. The money went towards having my 1770 London made double bass completely restored. I know those LPs had a lot of caring use while I owned them first, and to be honest my tendency to do things with finesse meant that side one is always front and upright. All my former records were in that exact state, and all still work perfectly! ... suggesting that they have not been out of the sleeves for thirty years.

That is gratifying.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. Best wishes from George.

PS: New stylus tip being fitted at Hifi Gear in Hereford on Saturday.
 
Tony L said:
Recycled vinyl was very common in the US in the ‘70s and the UK in the ‘80s (especially for budget reissues). I guess it is why the term ‘virgin vinyl’ was coined later on for more upmarket releases as the assumption in the early CD era was most vinyl was recycled and of a lower quality. Some labels are releasing stuff on recycled vinyl as a green point these days, e.g. this release from Maisha and the upcoming Binker & Moses. The Maisha sounds great, I’ll report back on the Binker & Moses once it’s released (I have it on pre-order).
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I saw a YouTube vid of a GZ Media tour (Michael Fremer, I think) and they still do this. It's one guy's job to spend all day punching holes in old records - he didn't look happy.
 
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