Business

Lego axes plan to make bricks from recycled bottles

  • By Noor Nanji
  • Business reporter, BBC News

Image supply, Getty Images

Toy big Lego has scrapped plans to make its bricks from recycled bottles, in a blow to its efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

The firm stated in 2021 that it aimed to produce bricks not containing crude oil inside two years.

But on Monday, it stated it had discovered that utilizing the brand new materials did not cut back carbon emissions.

Lego stated it stays “fully committed” to making bricks from sustainable supplies.

Currently, lots of Lego’s bricks are made utilizing acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), a virgin plastic made from crude oil.

The transfer, which was first reported within the the Financial Times, might be seen as a setback after a high-profile push by Lego to enhance its inexperienced credentials.

Like many different firms, Lego has been exploring various supplies to plastic as sustainability turns into extra necessary to clients.

One of the challenges has been discovering a cloth that’s sturdy sufficient to final for generations.

In 2021, it stated it has developed prototype bricks made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, with another chemical compounds added.

The hope was that materials may have supplied an alternate to oil-based bricks.

But Lego has now revealed that after greater than two years of testing, it had discovered that utilizing recycled PET did not cut back carbon emissions.

It stated the rationale for that was as a result of additional steps have been required within the manufacturing course of, which meant it wanted to use extra power.

As a end result, it stated it has “decided not to progress” with making bricks from the fabric.

It stated it was at the moment testing and growing bricks made from “a range of alternative sustainable materials”.

Niels Christiansen, chief government of Lego, instructed the FT that there was no “magic material” to resolve the agency’s sustainability challenges.

“We tested hundreds and hundreds of materials. It’s just not been possible to find a material like that,” he stated.

A spokesperson for the corporate instructed the BBC: “We stay totally dedicated to making Lego bricks from sustainable supplies by 2032.

“We are investing greater than $1.2bn in sustainability initiatives within the 4 years to 2025 as a part of our efforts to transition to extra sustainable supplies and cut back our carbon emissions by 37% by 2032.”

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