Coldplay Finds New Grooves in Plastic Waste
Moon Music, Coldplay’s 10th album that lands on Oct. 4, will mark a number of firsts, none of which have anything to do with the music. As the hugely popular British band notes on its website, it has “gone to great lengths to make the physical release of Moon Music as sustainable as possible.”
Converting waste PET bottles into records.
The medium is the message, to borrow a phrase, and the band will release the first album ever in what’s being called a 140-g EcoRecord, each copy of which is made from nine recycled PET bottles recovered from post-consumer waste. The band claims on its website that this “will prevent the manufacture of more than 25 metric tons of virgin plastic, and provide an 85% reduction in manufacturing process CO2 emissions/kg compared to traditional 140-g vinyl.”
CD enthusiasts can also get in on the act: They can procure the album on EcoCD, created from 90% recycled polycarbonate sourced from post-consumer waste streams. Compared with conventional CDs, EcoCDs provide a 78% reduction in CO2/kg emissions and avoid the manufacture of more than five metric tons of virgin plastic.
Coldplay partners with The Ocean Cleanup.
Coldplay also has collaborated with The Ocean Cleanup to create what it’s calling the Notebook Edition EcoRecord LP, which is manufactured from recycled PET comprising 70% river plastics collected by the environmental group from the Rio Las Vacas in Guatemala.
Coldplay is a sponsor of the Interceptor 005, which captures plastic waste from rivers in Malaysia. Image courtesy of the Ocean Cleanup.
Coldplay partnered with the Ocean Cleanup in 2021 and has provided funding for its operations removing plastic from oceans and rivers and sponsored the organization’s Interceptor 005 in Malaysia and the forthcoming Interceptor 020 in Indonesia. The stated mission of The Ocean Cleanup is to remove legacy pollution from the oceans and intercept plastic in the world’s most polluting rivers and stop the waste from entering the seas.
The Ocean Cleanup recounts the arduous process of turning the plastic garbage into a high-quality pressing that is music to the ears of audiophiles in an update on its website. The video below provides a glimpse into the project.
The resulting Notebook Edition of Moon Music is loaded with features including band leader Chris Martin’s notes, lyrics, and illustrations from the writing and recording of the album and demos from the recording sessions.
All versions of Moon Music, including some limited editions, can be pre-ordered at the Coldplay store.
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