A fledgling south-London pop band is to release a debut, “environmentally-themed” single next month packaged in inverted used crisp packets, having enlisted thousands of schoolchildren and university students' help to collect, sort and “re-process' the discarded packs.
ReCoup is fronted by city analyst Pieter Theron, who had the idea for the single, “Remind Us” after an evening's discussion with his wife, a seasoned environmental campaigner, and music publicists from publicity company Quite Great. The single's theme is the “impact humans have had on Earth”; ReCoup plans releasing a subsequent, similarly-themed album later in March.
The band says it chose inverted crisp packets for the packaging “because they are hard to recycle, the perfect shape for a CD, are durable and, when turned inside out, are uniform silver in colour”. Theron also wants people to “be creative about what can and can't be recycled”.
The CD cover assembly process has built a small, enthusiastic army of eco-packers, beginning with drummer Alida Stadler's class of 10-year-olds from Newham's Curwen Primary School. Their early enthusiasm has prompted all Year 3,4,5 and 6 pupils to collect and store empty crisp packs.
Kingston University students meanwhile have set up collection points around the campus and sorted thousands of packets into different sizes. London recycling body London Remade has offered advice, while guitarist Mat Wood's septuagenarian parents have helped pack thousands of the CDs.
Quite Great national press officer James Parrish adds: “We believe the project is unusual in being entirely non-commercially driven, the band members are far keener that people think about the whole area of recycling and what they can contribute. Initially we will be releasing 1,000 singles, mainly in the London area, but are geared up to manufacture more if demand is significant.”
“The plan is also to pack the ReCoup album in inverted crisp packets in a few weeks time,” he continues. “Our other current focus is getting brand owners and retailers involved; Asda, for instance, has expressed an interest and we're talking to a major crisp producer.”
For more information on getting involved,T: +44 (0)1223 410000
