The LEGO Group scraps existing plans to make bricks from recycled bottles
Despite existing plans to produce bricks from recycled bottles, the LEGO Group has confirmed it won’t now be moving ahead with the initiative.
Back in 2021, the LEGO Group issued a call for plastic bottles to become prototype LEGO elements in an informational video showcasing its recycled bricks. The idea was to give waste bottles a new lease of life, spreading awareness around the company’s first-ever recycled pieces.
Created using PET (polyethylene terephthalate) from discarded bottles, the 2×4 bricks were seen as a test case for transitioning towards more sustainable parts that were originally scheduled to arrive in sets sometime in 2023. However, the LEGO Group has now confirmed that it won’t be moving forward with its existing plans, which may be seen as a blow to the company’s efforts to cut carbon emissions.
The Financial Times (via the BBC) is reporting that the LEGO Group was aiming to produce bricks that contained no crude oil within two years, but the company has since found that using the new material didn’t in fact reduce emissions as has been previously hoped.
The LEGO Group revealed it had spent more than two years testing more than 250 types of recycled PET as a possible alternative method for creating bricks, but has now “decided not to progress” with making pieces from the plastic.
Niels Christiansen, Chief Executive of the LEGO Group has stated that there was no “magic material” to resolve the company’s sustainability challenges. “We tested hundreds and hundreds of materials. It’s just not been possible to find a material like that,” he said.
A spokesperson for the LEGO Group told the BBC, “We remain fully committed to making LEGO bricks from sustainable materials by 2032. We are investing more than $1.2bn in sustainability initiatives in the four years to 2025 as part of our efforts to transition to more sustainable materials and reduce our carbon emissions by 37% by 2032.”
Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO through our affiliate links.
Author Profile
- From video game journalism to kids’ publishing, I’ve been there, seen it, done it and worn the T-shirt. I was also the editor of the first-ever official LEGO magazine way back when, LEGO Adventures. I have a passion for movies, comic books, tech and video games, with a wallet that’s struggling to keep up with my LEGO set wish list.
Latest entries
es gibt noch andere Spielzeuge,zB Wasserpistolen Bälle die man aus Recyceltem PET Flaschen erzeugen kann! Besser wäre es PET Flaschen zB aus Trester zu erzeugen!