First ever sustainable LEGO bricks?

AndyPol

I had a notification on Instagram this morning from LEGO to say they have developed "sugar-cane based plastic and are to appear in LEGO sets later this year".

I hope they don't dissolve after a few years!

I know that LEGO have been looking at this for years, but this is the first I've seen to confirm?

TheOriginalSimonB

Should this be on the first of next month?

Bumblepants

No, its a real thing. Lego announced all their botanical parts will be made from sustainable material starting as soon as later this year. Surprised it hasn't appeared on the front page yet.

stlux

Promobricks has details here (in German): https://www.promobricks.de/nachhaltige-lego-steine-aus-pflanzlichem-kunststoff-angekuendigt/54808

That article is mostly a press release, so surely must also be available in English?

Rainstorm26

What I really want to know is if I add them to my coffee will the bricks dissolve and will the coffee taste good.

AndyPol

I've found on the LEGO website the full information in English:

http://www.lego.com/en-gb/aboutus/news-room/2018/march/pfp/

It was only issued this morning at 0900CET.

Bumblepants

It is in English on TheBrickFan

TheOriginalSimonB

Oh I know it's real!  Seen it on Instagram too.

SumoLego

'Plant-based plastic' feels like an oxymoron.  (I know 'plastic' is a broad category that doesn't require the use of petroleum, but whatever.)

I posit this question - Shouldn't a plant-based plastic first be used for plastic plants?

CCC

Sustainable doesn't mean biodegradeable. It is to do with the source, not the end of life. Polyethylene made from plants is to different to polyethylene made from oil at end of life. They are still a long way off for plant-sourced ABS, which is why the plant -ourced plastic will be for the softer polyethylene parts first.

Fizyx

CCC said:

Sustainable doesn't mean biodegradeable. It is to do with the source, not the end of life. Polyethylene made from plants is to different to polyethylene made from oil at end of life. They are still a long way off for plant-sourced ABS, which is why the plant -ourced plastic will be for the softer polyethylene parts first.

It's definitely a good step in the right direction though, even if it's not all the way there yet.  Luckily LEGO is not the only that needs to work on the end of life issue, and there have been some recent promising advances in that area.  As someone who likes to collect and tries to be a conscientious consumer (as much as you can be, I guess, although I admit that those are often an oxymoronic statements...), I'm just glad that this is clearly just as much on LEGO's radar as my own!