The Lego Group is piloting its brick take-back service, Lego Replay, in the UK in an effort to stop the plastic pieces becoming waste.
Per a press release from the company, most people in the UK already “have a plan” for any Lego bricks they no longer want or need. 94 percent of families pass their bricks on to friends, family, charities or local schools, or they sell them.
If it’s not an option to donate or sell the bricks, people can now use the Lego Replay service. These returned bricks will be recycled into new items “that support learning in schools, such as storage boxes for toys”, Lego said.
Lego will fill these storage boxes with Lego bricks before they are sent to schools and other places in the UK.
Tim Brooks, Lego’s VP of environmental sustainability, said: “We’re really proud that so many of our fans in the UK already pass the joy of Lego play to others.
“Our bricks are designed to be durable and safe enough to be handed down from generation to generation to inspire endless play and creativity for many years.”
He added, “Piloting Lego Replay in the UK is an important step on our journey to becoming more circular.
“We want to rehome, repurpose or recycle every Lego brick to keep them in play for longer. We hope Lego Replay will help even more people donate their Lego bricks with ease, and feel proud they are supporting playful learning for children across the country.”
To get involved, Lego fans can pack up unused bricks in any box, print out a freepost label here and ship them from any DPD drop shop across England, Scotland and Wales. Lego plans to introduce the service in Northern Ireland soon.
Lego spending $1.4bn on sustainability
Lego Replay launched in the US in 2019 and expanded to Canada in 2021. To date, more than 230 million Lego bricks have been donated by people in North America.
The Lego Group recently committed to triple its sustainability spending over four years to $1.4 billion.
As part of this, the company plans to make its products and packaging from more sustainable materials by 2032, including removing all single-use plastics from packaging.
Additionally, the group is working to reduce its carbon emissions by 37 percent by 2032. It aims to be net zero by 2050.
Recently, the Lego Group scrapped plans to make its bricks from recycled plastic as using the new sustainable material does not reduce carbon emissions.
