No More LEGO Plastic Bricks – Company To Make Pieces With Eco-Friendly Materials
The LEGO bricks won’t be made from plastic in the near future. The company announced it is investing in research that aims to offer a more sustainable and eco-friendly material.
The LEGO Group has announced a substantial research investment which will eventually see the company replacing its iconic plastic bricks with pieces made from sustainable and environmentally friendly materials. 1 billion Danish Krone (about $150 million) has been committed to establish a LEGO Sustainable Materials Centre in Billund, Denmark. The company will soon initiate a recruitment drive to hire 100 specialists who will work on developing materials and ways to build the iconic and easily recognizable colorful bricks from alternative raw materials, said the LEGO group’s largest stock-holder and owner, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, via a statement from the company,
“Our mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. We believe that our main contribution to this is through the creative play experiences we provide to children. The investment announced is a testament to our continued ambition to leave a positive impact on the planet, which future generations will inherit.”
Why is it important for LEGO to make its bricks out of eco-friendly materials? LEGO bricks have always been made from plastic and are considered very valuable, not just because they are sturdy and can last multiple generations. However, plastic isn’t a eco-friendly material to begin with. The processes that are required to make plastic are quite polluting to the atmosphere. Moreover, though discarded LEGO bricks can be recycled, they often end up in landfills due to poor collection systems. And when we are thinking about annual production of 60 billion individual LEGO pieces, it becomes very critical to consider the impact they have on the planet, said Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, LEGO’s CEO and president,
“There is no common definition of a sustainable material. Several factors influence the environmental sustainability of a material – the composition of the material, how it is sourced and what happens when the product reaches the end of its life. When we search for new materials all of these factors must be considered.”
The company and the research center aim to build LEGO bricks using wholly sustainable materials by 2030. The Sustainable Materials Centre is expected to be ready by the end of next year and is a part of company’s holistic approach to go completely eco-friendly.
To date, LEGO bricks have been made from Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), a type of plastic that was synthesized for performance and durability. However, the eco-friendly materials would surely benefit the environment and future generations who inherit earth.
[Image Credit | Ulrich Baumgarten / Getty Images]
