LEGO unveils bottles to bricks initiative
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Iconic toymaker LEGO has unveiled a process it hopes will allow building bricks made from recycled water bottles to feature in future kits
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FROM BOTTLE TO BRICK
1 Litre

1. PET* plastic drinking bottles ground into flakes (right)
2. Strengthening agent added to cleaned, granulated flakes (below)
3. Granulate moulded into 2x4 bricks
4. Currently, bricks are being quality checked and assessed to see how best to colour them (output is pale grey at present)

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SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY

LEGO uses 100,000 tonnes of plastic in its products each year
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2014: LEGO joins WWF Climate Savers Programme
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2017: 100% of energy used at LEGO sites
is renewable
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2018: 100 kit elements made from sugar cane plastic
One bottle yields 10 bricks
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2020: LEGO pledges $400m over three years to step up efforts to replace plastic bricks with ones made from sustainable materials by end of decade
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Launching 2023!

*Polyethylene terephthalate (aka polyester) – widely used in food and drink packaging
Sources: Reuters, LEGO, PETRA Pictures: LEGO, Alibaba © GRAPHIC NEWS