LEGO is still looking for a replacement for ABS plastic

Like every year, LEGO tells us again about its desire to replace by 2030 the material that makes up all of its products: ABS plastic.

Today, it's to tell us that this project is shifting into high gear with the creation of a "LEGO Sustainable Materials Center", a research center based in Billund with multiple branches scattered around the world in which a hundred specialists will try to find a replacement for the good old plastic that we know.

And these specialists will have a lot to do to imagine the material that can offer the same qualities as the current polymer: Clutch Power, compatibility with existing elements, conservation of the initial physical properties over time, resistance to shocks, prolonged exposure to the sun, etc. The task is not easy and LEGO is giving itself fifteen years to solve this complicated equation largely framed by increasingly restrictive standards.

Beware of shortcuts and hasty conclusions: Even if the manufacturer emphasizes its desire to reduce the impact of its products on the environment and contribute to the protection of the planet, nothing says that LEGO will one day completely free itself. petroleum materials that are already used in the composition of its products to offer toys 100% bio.

The corn-based brick is not for now, especially as the debate on the replacement of fossil resources by raw materials from potentially food crops could well be invited into the discussion, as is already the case. in the field of biofuels.

The press release announcing the creation of "LEGO Sustainable Materials Center" is available at this address.