The Lego Group has just taken the first big step towards making toys from recyclable materials, with its new bricks made from recycled bottles.
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Lego's goal lately has been one: to manufacture all of products from sustainable sources by 2030. And now it has taken a big step in that direction, with the introduction of its original bricks made from recycled plastic. They look like normal Lego bricks, like any other, but their content is special.
"The new prototype, which uses PET plastic from recycled bottles, is the first brick made from recycled material that meets the company's strict quality and safety requirements," the Lego Group said in a statement .
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The recycled plastic brick has been in development for several years. The company said it tested more than 250 variations of PET plastic. “PET” stands for polyethylene terephthalate, a type of plastic commonly used in bottles and food containers. Lego’s composition includes reinforcing additives.
These prototype bricks are a milestone, but they're not yet ready for mass production. Lego said it will be "some time" before the bricks appear in production. The clickable pieces will go through at least a year of testing.
The Lego Group has already committed to testing recyclable paper bags instead of single-use plastic to store the bricks in. It is also producing softer kit parts, such as trees and plants, from plastic derived from sugarcane.
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While the materials may be innovative, future Lego bricks made from recycled plastic won't be any different from the durable old-fashioned bricks. So we'll still have to be careful not to step on them!
