Ocean plastic pollution is one of the biggest global environmental threats of our time. So says the charity Surfers Against Sewage which is raising awareness, and funds, to try and inspire communities to take action to protect the ocean and its wildlife. It’s vital, especially when, according to the charity’s website, one marine mammal dies every 30 seconds because of plastic pollution.

To highlight the importance of communities joining together to tackle the problem, Sharp’s Brewery worked with Havas London and Universal Music Group on a new campaign, ‘Ocean Vinyl’ to raise funds for the charity.

Partnering with Mercury Music Prize nominated artist Nick Mulvey, ‘Ocean Vinyl’ is the creation of the world’s first playable record made from recycled ocean plastic found along the Cornwall coastline. To promote the track’s launch, Havas London also created a film that explores the making of the record.

Mulvey penned an original track for the record titled, In the Anthropocene. The word Anthropocene is defined as “the current geological age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.”

All proceeds from sales of the recycled record, as well as digital streams on Spotify and Apple Music, will go to Surfers Against Sewage to help protect British coastlines from pollution, specifically plastic waste.

The campaign follows action taken last year by the brewery that saw the Atlantic Ocean signed as an artist to Universal Music under the name of Keynvor, which means ‘ocean’ in Cornish. Sharp’s ongoing work aims to highlight the problem of sustainability within the music industry from single-use cups at gigs to unsustainable vinyl production practices.

This record has been designed to give music lovers the chance to own a record made from single-use plastics that they can keep on using forever. It turns the idea of single-use plastic, something that is constantly surrounded by negative press, into something positive; a way of spreading the charity’s message as well as encouraging people to help clean up the UK’s coastline.