Bio magazine
Lego to Launch First Sustainable Bricks in 2018
작성자 : Aeyoung Park
2018-03-13 |
조회 : 12092
Cooperation with Braskem
▲ Lego botanical elements such as leaves, bushes and trees will be made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugarcane in the future and will appear in Lego boxes already in 2018 (© Lego)
Production has started on a range of sustainable Lego elements made from sugarcane-based polyethylene supplied by Braskem. The new sustainable Lego ‘botanical’ elements will come in varieties including leaves, bushes and trees and will appear in Lego boxes already in 2018.
"This is a great first step in our ambitious commitment of making all Lego bricks using sustainable materials,” said Tim Brooks, Vice President, Environmental Responsibility at the Lego Group. The move is part of the Lego Group’s commitment to use sustainable materials in core products and packaging by 2030.
Lego botanical elements such as leaves, bushes and trees will be made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugarcane in the future and will appear in Lego boxes already in 2018 (© Lego) zoom
Lego botanical elements such as leaves, bushes and trees will be made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugarcane in the future and will appear in Lego boxes already in 2018 (© Lego)
The new sustainable Lego elements are made from polyethylene and while they are based on sugarcane material, they are technically identical to those produced using conventional plastic. The elements have been tested to ensure the plant-based plastic meets the high standards for quality and safety that the Lego Group has. Braskem, the world's largest biopolymer producer, will supply the Lego Group with its I'm green polyethylene, a globally certified plastic made from sugarcane. The Green PE is 100% recyclable and contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases. The production process begins with dehydrating ethanol, which is obtained from sugarcane, to transform it into green ethylene, which then goes to the polymerization units, where it is transformed into polyethylene. The sugarcane plastic then goes to third-generation companies, the so-called converters, which transform it into products.
The world's first renewable biobased polyethylene to be produced on an industrial scale, Braskem's I'm green plastic has been produced since 2010 at the Triunfo Petrochemical Complex in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, which is the world's largest industrial plant making ethanol-based ethylene, with annual production capacity of 200 kilotons.
The Lego Group has partnered with WWF to support and build demand for sustainably sourced plastic, and has joined the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance (BFA), an initiative of WWF, to secure fully sustainable sourcing of raw material for the bioplastics industry. The plant-based plastic used to make the botanical Lego elements is certified by the Bonsucro Chain of Custody standard for responsibly sourced sugarcane.
Source: Kunststoffe
