North Texas record shop gives old vinyl a second spin through recycling program

At County Line Records in Keller, old music is getting another turn.

The Main Street record shop is taking part in a pilot program that lets customers drop off damaged, scratched, used, or unused vinyl records so the material can be recycled into new records.

For owners Rodney and Lorissa Holder, vinyl has already changed their tune once.

"And he acquired a lady's, I guess, record collection," Lorissa Holder said. "And it kind of sparked the idea."

That idea became County Line Records three years ago. The business started in Decatur before moving to Keller, where it now sells records, CDs, cassettes, stereo equipment, books, band shirts, and other physical media.

"Our goal is to have something for everybody," employee Karis Mellegren said.

And increasingly, "everybody" includes teenagers.

Holder said young customers are buying records, CDs, and even cassette tapes.

Some use CDs at school, where pulling out a phone may not be allowed. Others have cassette players in their cars passed down to them.

For high school senior Kendall Anderson, the appeal is partly about unplugging.

"I think our generation has grown up with technology from being born, pretty much," Anderson said. "So I think it's refreshing not to have to rely on it. And it's nice to own something physical."

Fellow vinyl fan Addie Evans, who recently bought her first record player, came to County Line looking for the first albums to build her collection.

The connection is also generational. Evans said her parents once had a large record collection, but many of their albums became warped or damaged. Now, shopping for vinyl brings back those memories.

"I really feel like connecting with them, being here and buying physical records," she said.

County Line Records is among a collection of independent record stores working with Warner Music Group on a vinyl take-back program. Consumers can bring damaged or unplayable records to participating stores regardless of the artist, record label, or condition.

Recovery partner Virterras Materials will evaluate the collected vinyl.

For some customers, however, dropping off an old record involves more than recycling plastic.

"When you have people come in with their parents' collections or their grandparents' collections or their collections that they can't play anymore, it's hard to let go," Mellegren said. "There's so many memories."

Knowing the material could eventually become part of another record can make that goodbye a little easier, she said.

"You're not letting go of it," Mellegren said. "You're just passing it along."

County Line Records is accepting old vinyl through the end of the month.

Red Zeppelin Records in McKinney is also participating in the Vinyl Recovery Initiative.

For records that have reached the end of their groove, the program offers the possibility of another spin – and perhaps an entirely new sound.