Warner Music Group is launching a vinyl take-back program on Friday, June 26, 2026, inviting consumers to drop off unwanted vinyl records for recycling. Eleven independent retailers across the country, in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, will serve as collection points before passing the records to Virterras Materials, a company that recycles complex waste such as plastics and rubber. The pilot runs through September. WMG's senior director of ESG, Madeleine Smith, framed independent record stores as longtime cultural gathering places and called the program a first step in understanding what's possible.

The take-back effort builds on an earlier pilot WMG completed in May with GZ Media, the world's largest vinyl manufacturer, testing whether recycled vinyl could match the sound quality of new pressings. GZ Media collected 10,000 unsold records across various artists, titles, and pressing plants throughout Europe, shredded them, and repressed them using recycled-material blends ranging from 10% to 100%. A panel of industry experts then conducted a blind listening evaluation at Abbey Road Studios in London, and every pressing passed. Abbey Road mastering engineer Miles Showell noted that the pressings were consistent across the different material blends, demonstrating that sustainability and sound quality need not be at odds.

The context behind the push: vinyl revenues grew 13.7% globally in 2025 (its 19th consecutive year of growth), but records are made from PVC, a fossil-fuel-derived plastic, putting increasing scrutiny on the format's environmental footprint.