A change of course: Lego abandons its plan for parts made from recycled plastic bottles

The Lego toy company has decided to abandon its plan to reuse plastic from water bottles for its popular interlocking pieces, realizing that the approach would ultimately pollute more.

“We have decided not to progress in making bricks [polyéthylène téréphtalate recyclé] (PET) was recycled after more than three years of testing because we found the material did not reduce carbon emissions,” a company spokesperson announced Monday, according to CNN.

The Lego company’s plan, which two years ago unveiled a model of bricks made from plastic recycled from bottles, after the company realized it could be more polluting overall, ‘invest in new equipment – which requires more measures – than continuing with the current formula.

According to the spokesperson, the recycled material is not as durable and safe as the petroleum-based brick formula currently used.

However, according to CNN, the company is “fully committed to making Lego bricks from sustainable materials by 2032” to reduce its carbon emissions by 37%.

According to the spokesperson, this avenue is one of hundreds of materials tested by the company.