Lego and the environment

[Deinonychus]

You put paint down the drain? Sorry I've just never heard of this before, I tend to keep mine in jars for touching up and so on.

About ABS I believe, well I was told by a engineering student that the future held ABS style plastic made of starch from potatoes, I asked a chemistry student friend and seem said it was possible. So the future may be safe and home grown. Generally to me it seems that Lego’s damage to the earth per use must be very low so that should be alright, and that compared with some of the products that arrive at my work pace the packaging is nonexistent so I’m fairly happy with Lego’s credential myself.

Not to burst your bubble or anything, but replacing petroleum with grown substitutes is not the answer. It's been shown time and time again that the growing, transporting, and processing of crops for use as alternatives to petroleum actually creates just as much, if not more, pollution and actually uses more energy to produce. This is especially bad with ethonol, which uses more energy to process then you get by burning it. Plus, growing alternative crops takes room that edges out food crops, thus driving up the price of food, and limits supply.

Sadly, there's no easy answer.

[Section8]

compared with some of the products that arrive at my work pace the packaging is nonexistent so I’m fairly happy with Lego’s credential myself.

You do make a good point. Lego does use far less packaging than a lot of other luxury items, especially tech ones. I hate those huge plastic clamshell cases that stuff comes in. A cardboard box with a few plastic bags is much better. A good side effect of that packaging style is you can shake your presents at Christmas time and figure out which ones are Lego sets!

[MoonCheese]

Oh yeah, I'd do that all the time, shaking the Xmas presents...usually we left most of them out (wrapped) until Xmas, so it was easy. Too bad I almost never got bigger sets though. I think I only ever got 2, and one I bought with my saved allowance (the first thing I bought with it, IIRC).

Although since not everyone celebrates Xmas, substitute Yule or Chanukah or whatever the Muslims have as appropriate, and add birthdays.

[Cardinal Brick]

Eh, no, it's volatile material. I just now for a fact, and that's why I mentioned it, that others DO after a hard day of painting the garage or some other part of the home.

Sorry I apologies for my misunderstanding I though you were speaking for yourself. I tend to see putting things down the drain as an evil as I spent some time cleaning kitchens grease traps a few years ago and I’d rather people never put anything other than water down there after that.

Deinonychus I’m not sure the potatoes plastic idea is a resource intensive as ethanol but I have no real idea or understanding I was only told about it, as far as I know it’s still in the research stage. I was of it more for when the oil runs out and we have to make Lego out of something!

[Deinonychus]

I was of it more for when the oil runs out and we have to make Lego out of something!

This got me thinking a couple days ago.

Whenever we run out of oil, if we don't have an alternate way of creating plastic we may have to start mining landfills and garbage dumps for discarded plastic to recycle and reuse...so by throwing plastic away now are we really just saving it for the future? ;-)

[Cardinal Brick]

An intresting idea, though it did make me think of Mad Max style resoure wars for all plastic bags!

[SlyOwl]

The answer is obvious. TLC must stop using ABS plastic, to stop using oil. Instead, they must withdraw all ice-cube trays and use them to start moulding bricks in different materials; water (ice) for trans, chocolate for brown and all sorts of other colours, with corresponding materials. They must then be frozen and therefore played with in sub-zero temperatures. The energy used in keeping AFOLs' houses to this temperature will require marginally less oil than making the equivalent number of bricks, so it will have paid off.

Edited April 10, 2008 by SlyOwl