Lego, one of the most popular construction toy brands of all time, has just taken another step on its path to sustainability. The Danish company has just presented bricks made from used plastic bottles .
The toymaker has been researching how to make its products more sustainable for some time. Not surprisingly, in a recent experiment it was discovered that the famous Lego bricks can remain in the ocean between 100 and 1,300 years. The researchers also discovered that some pieces, in addition to softening and discoloring, also fractured and fragmented, suggesting that some blocks could break down and transform into microplastics .
The Danish company has experimented with blocks made from polyethylene made from sugar cane. Now his focus is on prototypes of bricks made from used plastic bottles that are in the experimentation phase.
For each one liter plastic bottle, you get approximately 10 2×4 bricks . The formulation of the material that has been achieved increases the durability of PET, so that it is strong enough for the famous bricks. Reinforcing additives are added to recycled PET from US suppliers that have both European and American approval.
“The biggest challenge on our path to sustainability is rethinking and innovating with new materials that are as durable, strong and high-quality as our current bricks, and that fit with the Lego elements manufactured over the last 60 years,” stated Tim Brooks. , Vice President of Environmental Responsibility for the Lego Group to Mashable.
The date these bricks will reach the hands of children is unknown. According to Mashable, the company does not have a defined timetable for the launch. Improving and coloring them is expected to take at least a year.
Lego announced its plans to invest up to $ 400 million in sustainability efforts in 2020. These efforts include its Sustainable Materials Program, social initiatives and a goal of becoming carbon neutral (zero emissions) by 2022 . The company has also pledged to stop making its single-plastic packaging by 2025 . “We want our products to have a positive impact on the planet, not just with the game they inspire, but also with the materials we use,” Brooks told Mashable. “We still have a long way to go on our journey, but we are satisfied with the progress we are making,” he said.
