After three years of testing by the company's engineers and materials scientists on more than 250 variations of PET materials and hundreds of other plastics, they have now found a prototype that meets several of their quality, safety and play requirements, including coupling performance, the Danish toy maker reports, according to several press reports. The brick, they say, is made of recycled PET supplied from the United States. According to Lego, the raw material from a one-liter PET bottle is enough for about ten Lego bricks, which until now are made from ABS. A customized compounding technology is said to enable the combination with reinforcing additives, which provide for the increased durability of the bricks made of PET. However, it would take some time before the prototype can go into series production. Further tests, for example on coloring, which would take at least a year, as well as work on the material formulation, would be necessary. According to Euwid, Lego aims to produce its products entirely from recycled or bio-based raw materials by 2030 at the latest, without compromising on safety or quality.

Sources:

• plasticker.de (24.6.2021)
• neue-verpackung.de (25.6.2021)
• kunststoffe.de (28.6.2021)
• Euwid Recycling und Entsorgung 26/2021 (29.6.2021)
• Photo: © Lego