Lego no longer plans to make bricks out of recycled plastic, saying it does not have a significant impact on the carbon footprint of the toy.
The company’s trial of making Lego bricks out of used plastic bottles has come to an end, according to CBSNews.
Lego announced these recycled bricks back in 2021, as an alternative to the tough ABS plastic used in standard plastic bricks.
“ABS is incredibly stiff. Very stiff, very precise, very hard. PET is less stiff, less hard, and less precise, so that’s why we need to use an impact modifier with PET,” vice president of environmental responsibility Tim Brooks told Wired in 2021.
“That’s what’s different here. We are using a different grade of PET with an added ‘secret sauce’ that we have a patent pending on. So you’re looking at a PET that we’re modifying to make it perform like ABS.”
At the time of this sustainability announcement more than two years ago, Lego made no specific promises about the roll-out of the PET recycled bricks.
“If all goes well, you might one day find a brick made from recycled PET in your Lego sets,” reads an old page on the Lego website.
Judging by this decision, initial hopes of reducing carbon impact of the bricks by up to 70 per cent did not pan out in reality.
This is not the end to Lego’s environmental ambitions, of course.
At the end of August, the company pledged to reach “net zero” emissions by 2050, and to cut emissions by 37 per cent cut by 2032, compared to figures recorded in 2019.
“The challenge is vast, and we are taking steps across all areas of our business to reduce our environmental impact,” says Lego CEO Niels B Christiansen.
These measures include making its buildings operate in a more environmentally friendly manner, increasing the use of renewable-energy sources, and working with suppliers to improve carbon policies across the supply chain. But, for now, it does not include fundamentally altering the way Lego bricks are made.
The brand does make some of its Lego components from non-ABS plastic materials, though. In 2018, it began using bio-polyethylene, made from sugarcane, to produce Lego plants, trees, and leaves.
This isn’t just a cute reference. Bio-PE is more flexible than ABS plastic, making it particularly suitable for these Lego items. The company says “more than 200” items are made using Bio-PE, including accessories for minifigs, such as scuba-diving gear.
