Analysis: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The development of a string set made with recycled material has laid down a new marker in the violin industry for companies conscious of their environmental responsibility at a time of intense public concern about the climate crisis. Slovakian string company Warchal has recently released a set of limited-edition, synthetic-core strings called ‘Phoenix 2020’, which incorporate silver from used Warchal strings recovered through the firm’s string recycling programme. Sustainability is an issue for the whole industry, but manufacturers are arguably at the sharp end, not only because their products are disposable but also because many strings have multi-metal and multi-material constructions, which makes recycling their components both technically and economically challenging.