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A box full of Lego bricks: "We tested hundreds of materials"
Photo: Patrick Pleul / dpa
In almost every playroom in Germany there are bricks made of Lego - produced from plastic made from climate-damaging petroleum. In order to become more sustainable, the Danish toy manufacturer has been working on an alternative for years: Lego bricks should be made from recycled PET plastic from old plastic bottles. But according to a report in the Financial Times, the company has now abandoned the bottle plans.
"We have tested hundreds of materials. It is simply not possible to find such material," the paper quotes Lego boss Niels Christiansen. The surprising reasoning of the Lego CEO: "The material does not reduce CO₂ emissions".
In order to make the recycled plastic as durable as the plastic used so far, additional ingredients would have to be added, according to the company's justification. In addition, a lot of energy is needed for processing and drying the material.
However, Lego wants to continue researching alternative materials for Lego brick production, the company announced. The goal of making the stones from sustainable materials by 2032 is adhering to. Most recently, Lego had also announced that it would pack the sets in paper instead of plastic.
According to its own information, Lego has invested around 1.2 billion dollars in sustainability projects. The declared goal is to reduce CO₂ emissions by 2032 percent by 37. They are currently working on the development of Lego bricks from "a range of alternative, sustainable materials". This also includes e-methanol, i.e. synthetic fuel.
Lego was founded in 1932 by Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen. The name is the abbreviation of »leg godt«, Danish for »play well«. In terms of sales, the company is now considered the largest toy manufacturer in the world.
mic/AP