89

News

Lego launches first sustainable bricks

Christian Wenande
March 2nd, 2018


This article is more than 6 years old.

New bricks to be made from plant-based plastic

Lego’s soft bricks the first to see change (photo: Lego)

The Danish toy giant Lego has revealed that it has started production on a new line of sustainable bricks made from plant-based plastic – more specifically from sugar cane.

Initially, they will be incorporated into Lego’s softest brick pieces, such as small trees, bushes and leaves – which will no longer be produced from the oils usually used in Lego brick production.

“At the LEGO Group we want to make a positive impact on the world around us, and are working hard to make great play products for children using sustainable materials,” said Tim Brooks, the deputy head of environmental responsibility at Lego.

“We are proud that the first LEGO elements made from sustainably-sourced plastic are in production and will be in LEGO boxes this year. This is a great first step in our ambitious commitment to make all LEGO bricks use sustainable materials.”

READ MORE: Old Lego bricks potentially harmful to children, claims British study

Energy self-sufficient
The step is Lego’s first towards attaining its ambition of producing all bricks and packaging from sustainable material by 2030.

Lego has embraced more sustainable models in recent years, such as earmarking a billion kroner to find sustainable materials in 2015 and investing 6 billion kroner in two wind turbine parks.

As a result, the energy production of Lego investments exceeded the energy consumption of all Lego factories, shops and offices globally in 2017.


Share

Most popular

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to receive The Daily Post

















Latest Podcast

A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”