RECYCLE

At Vinylize, recycling is not a goal. It is a way of life. Every object amplifies the question: "Can it be used for anything else?" More often than not, the answer is NO.
But sometimes an opportunity presents itself. By purchasing a pair of Vinylize, you are helping keep more than 3 tons of plastics out of the ecosystem each year.
It is an unfortunate truth that many of the vinyl records produced today are not sold.
With the demise of the vinyl industry the supply chain has been broken. Today vinyl that is not sold is disposed of in landfills. Vinylize offers recycling services to music distributors and individuals who need to dispose of vinyl.

VINYL REUSED

Vinyl records. The perfect product to recycle: global, iconic and available. Millions of tons were pressed in the heyday of the medium and now they are making a comeback. Since 2004 we at Vinylize have been developing tools and methods to recycle vinyl.
What began as an innocent hobby is now a deep passion. With the resurgence of vinyl, it has become easier to source and the quality of our product has gone up. Unfortunately mispressings still happen and not all music is popular. These are the two factors that sustain our raw material and all of it gets recycled.

Vinylize recycles new pressing into eyewear and older pressings into other objects. Due to developments in mass production and sound reproduction both eyeglasses and vinyl records came to popularity in the 21st century. Their popularity does not seem to be diminishing.

Deep drawn after heating to create a lamp shade, this piece protects the eye from the light source and showcases the use of recycled material. It is black on the outside and reflective on the inside. Ideal for the desk or wall, it is one of the rare uses for a 12" vinyl and does not have to be milled. Made in 2015.

This popular record format was crafted into the first Vinylize cases. A method of recycling 7 inch vinyl was developed. The outside edge of the vinyl is heated and a zipper is sewn on. Then the whole record is heated again and folded in half. Tens of thousands of 7" vinyl records were recycled this way.

In vinyl veritas. Music and wine have been long known to accompany each other. The paper label on the recycled 7" vinyl is custom printed to showcase the vintage and vinyard. Each label is heat formed to fit the bottle before being glued on.

These unique cases were custom made for the Pink Floyd Limited Edition. 3 cases were made from each record and a custom fitted leather pouch was sewn to fit. This unique blue set was made from mispressings of their "High Hopes" album. The introduction of this unique collection resulted in a few legal issues, but it gave birth to our relatioship with AC/DC.

Vinylize's vinyl box, the Columbia, after the company that introduced the world to the vinyl record. Made from recycled 12" records that have been milled to shape and size and heat formed, this box is used for shipping and display and can hold one frame in a case. New labels have been designed to brand the product. The box is made using two whole 12" records.

Sometimes it happens. Introducing the 12" frame display. Desktop or wall version available.

The current Vinylize case still features a large element of vinyl but offers eyewear more protection. These vinyl elements are recycled from 12" records and then branded. A unique tool was developed to enable the efficient milling of vinyl pieces for the cases. This particular case was made for the anniversary of AC/DC in celebration of their "High Voltage" album.

REPURPOSED

Vinylize recycles more than 3 tons of vinyl records yearly. The A-Design and Red Dot award winning collection strives to recycle this culturally rich material. Since the introduction of the Columbia 12-inch “long play” 33⅓ rpm microgroove record in 1948, thousands if not milions of tons of vinyl records have been pressed. Their popularity declined with the advent of the cassette and later the CD. Streaming music was supposed to be the last nail in the vinyl coffin.

Since the advent of Record Store Day in 2008, there has been a rising affinity for vinyl records over other mediums. Current sales are estimated to be about 45 million units yearly. Much of our production recycles mispressings and used vinyl records.

Vinylize Eyewear

Eyewear

Vinylize recycles new pressing into eyewear and older pressings into other objects. Due to developments in mass production and sound reproduction both eyeglasses and vinyl records came to prominence in the 21st century. Their popularity does not seem to be diminishing.

Find below some of our other products that are made by recycling this iconic medium.

45 Case

This popular record format was crafted into the early Vinylize cases. A method of recycling 7 inch vinyl was developed. The outside edge of the vinyl is heated and a zipper is sewn on. Then the whole record is heated again and folded in half. Tens of thousands of 7" vinyl records were recycled this way.

Columbia Box

Vinylize's vinyl box, the Columbia, named after the company that introduced the world to the 33rpm vinyl record. Made from recycled 12" records that have been milled to shape and size and heat formed. This box is used for shipping and display and can hold one frame in a case. New labels have been designed to brand the product. The box is made using two whole 12" records.

Vine Label

In vinyl veritas. Music and wine have been long known to accompany each other. The paper label on the recycled 7" vinyl is custom printed to showcase the vintage and vinyard. Each label is heat formed to fit the bottle before being glued on.

Cards

All cards at Vinylize are made from vinyl. This includes business cards, guarantee cards, name tags, etc. Many times we recycle vinyl that is too old to be made into anything else. The material becomes more brittle with age and can contain many scratches. Old vinyl is recycled into cards, and the infomation is silk screened onto the surface. Also useful as a line maker and ice scrapper.

Flat Case

These unique cases were custom made for the Pink Floyd Limited Edition. 3 cases were made from each record and a custom fitted leather pouch was sewn to fit. This unique blue set was made from mispressings of their "High Hopes" album. The introduction of this unique collection resulted in a few legal issues, but it gave birth to our relationship with AC/DC.

12" Display

Sometimes it happens. Introducing the 12" frame display. The stand really pushed the idea and helped cement the understanding of recycling. Desktop or wall version available.

Mirrorize

We need to see ourselves when trying on glasses. Any why not use vinyl to make a frame? The Vinylize mirror recycles 4 records. Milled and riveted together to form a solid substrate, the end product is indeed durable. You will be able to look at yourself forever anywhere.

Tipton's Niptons

Music goes with everything, including sex and sex sells. Or so we thought. Granted, not many pasties sold, but it was a memborable project to work on. We can safely say that as hard as we tried, not very many pasties were made. It is a great loss to humanity but it will remain a sweet memory.

Vinyl Record Lamp shade

Deep drawn after heating to create a lamp shade, this piece protects the eye from the light source and showcases the use of recycled material. It is black on the outside and reflective on the inside. Ideal for the desk or wall, it is one of the rare uses for a 12" vinyl and does not have to be milled. Made in 2015.

Vinyl Palette

Matisse, Picasso, and van Gogh to name a few that have used this iconic tool. Vinyl records are perfect in shape and size for a painters palette. Small pools are made using using a vaccuum press and it can function as decoration piece as well. Every artist can help save the planet a little bit.

Vinylize Classic Case

The current Vinylize case still features a large element of vinyl but offers eyewear more protection. These vinyl elements are recycled from 12" records and then branded. A unique tool was developed to enable the efficient milling of vinyl pieces for the cases. This particular case was made for the anniversary of AC/DC in celebration of their "High Voltage" album.

Vinylize Wall Display

What a better way to display Vinylize than in a heat drawn gilded wall mount? Old vinyl has been given a new life, this time to please the eye. Manufactured from recycled between 2017 and 2021.

Clipboard

Taking notes is very important. So important in fact, that we make our own clipboards from vinyl. Durable and recycled, they last forever.

45 Vinyl Spindle

Quite a few 7" singles are pressed with a large hole. This is left over from when 7" singles used to be in coin operated machines. Most people now use an adapter, hence our 7" adapter made from the piece left over from mililng the lens hole.

Find a retailer near you and show some love for the planet.

Find a Store

40 TONS

recycled since 2004

Vinylize has been accredited as being one of the most environmentally friendly eyewear brands by OPTIC FOR GOOD.

Read Blog post

Every few months we receive pallets full of vinyl for recycling. These are unsold and unplayed vinyl. Listen to a few of our favorite tracks.

MENU