LEGO Prototype Brick Is Made From Recyclable Material

LEGO is preparing to deliver its infamous block pieces in a brand new and environmentally friendly way. The company’s infamous bricks are currently made of ABS, an unrecyclable plastic. Of course, this isn’t great for the world. When people are done with sets, they often end up collecting in landfills. Now, the company is making protoypes that are actually recyclable.

According to a Mashable report, LEGO’s new test brick comes from PET plastic bottles. It’s the same type of plastic in water and Coca-Cola bottles. Apparently, a single 32oz bottle can make 10 2×4 LEGOs. Testing has been underway for a while, sifting through hundreds of combinations and formulas to get it right. Those iconic sets have set a standard for quality and toughness, both of which LEGO intends to maintain. The bricks have to snap together and kill the nerves in our feet when we step on them, right?

The road between this prototype and bringing sustainable LEGO sets to market is still a long one.  There’s at least one more year of testing before it goes into the pilot stage. And, LEGO must solve another very important conundrum. Right now, the recyclable bricks are rather plain and there’s no clear process on how to properly color them. This will likely take even more months of research and testing. It might be a long time but this seems worth the wait, right?

LEGO

But it is good to know that LEGO is continuing its mission to be more sustainable. The company will invest upwards of $400 million in the next couple of years. The money will go towards eliminating single-use plastic packaging and “achieving zero waste & carbon-neutral operations.”

Any step towards trying to aid the environment is usually a solid and beneficial idea. And, with millions (maybe billions) of LEGO pieces floating around, we could certainly use some that are recyclable too.