Collecting used records is 'green.' A great form of recycling, it keeps old vinyl and cardboard out of landfill and fills your ears with vintage sounds. Yes, it takes up space - alot as your collection grows - but there are great solutions to storing your records that are not only well-designed, but also green. I am not the best example since my records are stored in white Ikea shelving - I figure I am storing my records in a pale green unit, since Ikea is a pretty green company, isn't it?

But along these lines, I came across this nice little article about a well-designed 'green' record storage unit. It was written by Lea Bogdan at Inhabitat. Here is an excerpt:

"When we first spotted this lovely piece by Test Collective at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, we were quite taken with the streamlined form and minimalistic look. The unit is aptly named Volume, because of its generous size and because it considers the storage, display, and celebration of vinyl records - a unique sole-purpose for a piece of furniture which we found intriguing! While we certainly applaud the use of Corian and bamboo, we think it is equally important to point out that the concept behind the piece - collecting old LPs instead of purchasing new CDs - is just as sustainable as the materials, making Volume all the more appealing to green music-lovers.

Test Collective, a full service design studio which started as a collaboration between Los Angeles based environmental designer Chris Adamick and Brooklyn based designer Piotr Woronkowinz believes that “vinyl records now represent an auditory and visual delicacy rather than an outdated technology.” Chris adds that they wanted this piece to recognize the act of listening to music. And since he recently became a LEED AP for New Construction, we can certainly feel good about the knowledge of sustainable materials that goes into Test Collective’s designs.

All of Test Collective’s pieces are handmade in the US, including the Facet table we admired from their ICFF booth in 2008. You might want to think about picking up the table as a complimentary piece to Volume, since it is also made of bamboo and Corian. Ordering is available through the Test Collective website with a six week lead time."

Check out Lea's whole article at: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/05/22/volume-by-test-collective-eco-storage-for-your-vinyl-records/

And if you want to go musically green, start collecting used records....and store them 'green.' Remember the beer crates you liberated for your record collection back in the day? I guess that was another form of recycling, before it even had a name.