After extensive testing, Lego realized that building blocks made from recycled bottles would not improve its carbon footprint. But the path to sustainable building blocks continues, people in Billund emphasize.
Lego is abandoning its plan to make building blocks from recycled PET bottles. After several years of testing, the toy company from Billund, Denmark, has decided not to pursue this project any further. A spokesman for the Lego Group announced this on Monday in Scandinavia. The “Financial Times” had previously reported.
Most plastics are based on crude oil, including the material used in Lego bricks. According to a spokesman, the company is not giving up its efforts to find oil-free materials for the products: Lego remains committed to producing building blocks from sustainable materials by 2032.
In June 2021, Lego presented the prototype of a building block that was made from PET plastic from discarded bottles and therefore met the company’s quality and safety requirements.
Alternative materials tested
This prototype now remains in the drawer. According to Lego, extra steps in the production process mean that the material does not reduce the CO2 emissions of the building blocks.
Recycled PET is just one of hundreds of different sustainable materials that Lego has tested, Billund said. The group is currently testing and developing a number of alternative materials, including other recyclable plastics and those from other sources such as e-methanol.
According to the company, Lego plans to invest more than $1.2 billion (1.1 billion euros) in sustainability initiatives by 2025.
Source: Stern
