Defective Lego Wall-E Getting Scrapped.

[gundambob]

Ever wonder what happened to WALL-E that's was recalled? And also defective Ant-Man set? See below:

More photos at:

https://www.facebook...09785870&type=3

The returned sets had the same fate as well.

Edited December 29, 2015 by gundambob

[dr_spock]

Interesting, I wonder how they process the returns. Does it say which country that is in?

[Vindicare]

That is a sad sight...

[mediumsnowman]

I hope they're being reused or distributed to LUG's. It's heavily implied that they are being destroyed but I see no direct evidence of it. It's just disgusting to be that wasteful, I don't see problems with a lot of them and I'm sure a lot of kids would be very happy.

Edited December 29, 2015 by mediumsnowman

[xboxtravis7992]

Are they just the boxes? Maybe the bricks have been removed.

[dr_spock]

If you look at the different containers, they separated the bags of bricks from the boxes. I suppose the box cardboard would be recycled. The bricks would be re-purposed.

[Fritzy]

Wait, what was wrong with that Ant-Man set?

[Dopplercb]

I find it hard to believe they wouldn't reuse the pieces.

[Tariq j]

They should donate them to charity or at least to kids with Families who aren't able to afford Lego often.

[KlodsBrik]

They should donate them to charity or at least to kids with Families who aren't able to afford Lego often.

If this is in Denmark, TLG is already doing this. They donate tons of NEW LEGO sets every year during the holidays for poor families.

And it definately looks like empty boxes. One might think that all the bags goes to the usual playareas all LEGO events have around the world.

Would be my guess.

[Peppermint_M]

The bricks are also scrapped at times. They are recycled into new LEGO as it is cheaper to melt the unsorted parts and make new ones than sorting all those loose parts.

[KlodsBrik]

The bricks are also scrapped at times. They are recycled into new LEGO as it is cheaper to melt the unsorted parts and make new ones than sorting all those loose parts.

Ohh ... They do that ... I would have thought that the ABS being coloured, would be hard to get back to a "basic". Any clue as to how they do that ?

[Sven F]

I don't think LEGO reuses any plastic for manufacturing, that would compromise quality as there are also rubber and polycarbonate parts in every box and the pellets come pre-colored. (unless it can be used only for black parts)

What is most surprising from those photos is that all returned sets end up there, even unopened ones that people sent back for minor box creases or "just because you can"

I never liked the anal consumers who either invest or nitpick about things just because overprotective consumer laws permitted them to. Boxes are cardboard, there is certain tolerance to be considered for their damage when being shipped, that should go without saying. If you are a weirdo who wants a perfect box, go to the shop yourself and take your pick.

[Peppermint_M]

Ohh ... They do that ... I would have thought that the ABS being coloured, would be hard to get back to a "basic". Any clue as to how they do that ?

Black hides all and TLG sure do make a lot of Darth Vaders!

It goes against a green ethos to trash and landfill recalled sets. Card and bricks can and will be recycled.

[dr_spock]

From Gizmodo article on LEGO a few years ago.

• What happens to all the bad pieces? Is there a Lego heaven? Do they recycle them?

Due to the precision of the brick molding machines, there are very few "bad" pieces—only 18 elements in every million produced fail to meet the company's high standards. Extra pieces or pieces from boxes that are caught on the line and identified as missing pieces or have boxes that are slightly damaged are used for donation boxes that are distributed to underprivileged children's organizations around the world.

• Why there is no recycling program for all the plastic they produce?

Lego Bricks are recyclable, just not in the way that most people think of recycling. Lego bricks are one of those things that never break and most people pass them down from generation to generation, thus keeping them alive. Also, during production we recycle all of the residual plastic used. In the molding machines, we crunch any faulty elements and put the granulate back in to the mold. Plastic that we can no longer use is sold to industries that can make use of them.

[xboxtravis7992]

If anything those photos prove how HUGE Lego's manufacturing business is. If they can throw a way a few hundred sets without a second glance, it is because that loss can't compare to the income obtained by 1000's of sold sets.

I used to work on a treadmill factory line. One faulty treadmill would require remanufacturing, which meant we had to place it on the conveyor belt and rebuild it. The loss of time doubled the production cost of the treadmill, because every broken treadmill we worked on meant one less new treadmill we could build. The only reason we repaired broken units was due to their high cost. In comparison to a treadmill, one broken Lego set would look like cheap change; and the loss TLG would incur to repair it would not be profitable compared to just scrapping it and manufacturing new sets.

[rodiziorobs]

Although I am sure they could find some willing AFOLs to sort them for free if they offered them one or even part of one of the damaged sets. ;)

[CM4Sci]

Ow, my heart...

[JGW3000]

This underscores the concept that to TLG, this is a business operation first with a focus on customer service and cost control, and a toy business second. They need to insure that no defective or possibly defective items get sold, and as others mentioned above, just cheaper to scrap than it is to repair/replace; certainly, defective products should not be used for donations. Since a large number of sets are produced to begin with, even a 1 % scrap rate adds very little to the bottom line. Scrapping product is common across many industries and products.

[CopMike]

About the Lego Foundation.

[connyx]

If this is in Denmark, TLG is already doing this. They donate tons of NEW LEGO sets every year during the holidays for poor families.

Really? That's cool.

And yeah, to see things being destroyed like this makes hearts bleed a bit. I agree.

[zux]

Looks like it is just boxes that are being scraped. I think these parts are something that would be shared as LUG support as it was done with pieces from 8043 sets which had weak linear actuators in first batch and been removed from stores.

Edited January 6, 2016 by zux

[Wodanis]

It is a true shame to see all those sets being destroyed. Hell if they don't want them I will gladly take them for their parts, never mind the boxes. That is the thing with Lego, it is meant to be reused and kept for ages...

[Darkdragon]

It is a true shame to see all those sets being destroyed. Hell if they don't want them I will gladly take them for their parts, never mind the boxes. That is the thing with Lego, it is meant to be reused and kept for ages...

It is not destroyed or trashed, as others have pointed out...

About the Lego Foundation.

From Gizmodo article on LEGO a few years ago.

• What happens to all the bad pieces? Is there a Lego heaven? Do they recycle them?

Due to the precision of the brick molding machines, there are very few "bad" pieces—only 18 elements in every million produced fail to meet the company's high standards. Extra pieces or pieces from boxes that are caught on the line and identified as missing pieces or have boxes that are slightly damaged are used for donation boxes that are distributed to underprivileged children's organizations around the world.

• Why there is no recycling program for all the plastic they produce?

Lego Bricks are recyclable, just not in the way that most people think of recycling. Lego bricks are one of those things that never break and most people pass them down from generation to generation, thus keeping them alive. Also, during production we recycle all of the residual plastic used. In the molding machines, we crunch any faulty elements and put the granulate back in to the mold. Plastic that we can no longer use is sold to industries that can make use of them.

[CopMike]

Dear RLUG Ambassadors and RLUGs globally.

Thank you for your many e-mails and interest in understanding the activity behind the images that surfaced on Facebook at the end of 2015.

The photos depict the recycling of LEGO® products where the materials are being separated prior to being recycled as paper, cardboard, plastic etc.

Prior to 2015 the boxes depicted and the LEGO bricks inside them would not have been recycled in this region. From 2015 onwards, these bricks, boxes and other packaging materials have been recycled to reduce the waste of natural resources. The materials will be recycled and come to good use – only not as LEGO bricks.

Every year the LEGO Group manage many LEGO sets and LEGO bricks globally that are not sold to consumers around the world. These stem from LEGO manufacturing sites, damaged boxes that cannot be sold in stores and from boxes that never leave the LEGO Group warehouses for various reasons.

A large part of the bricks from damaged boxes and boxes that never leave the LEGO Group warehouses are donated to charity. This takes place through the LEGO Foundation via Charity Packs to organizations around the world.

In 2014, the LEGO Foundation donated approximately 50 tons of LEGO bricks reaching over 325,000 children in 94 countries.

Sometimes bricks cannot be donated. When that happens, we choose to recycle the materials – as depicted in the images. As mentioned, all the materials will be recycled and come to good use – only not as LEGO bricks.

We are actively exploring alternative opportunities to keep LEGO bricks in play for as long as possible so as not to waste any resources – and as the durability and compatibility of the brick is unique. We will continue to do so in future.

Kim E. Thomsen

LCE | AFOL Relations & Programs.