New LEGO Initiative

[xxix5]

So, "The Brick Fan" posted that LEGO is soon going to start making plant elements using plant based plastic that is created from sugar cane, and the boxes will start to be made of the same method. My main problem with this is that how well will this plastic hold up, will it feel different, and will the clutch power stay the same. The article is below.

https://www.thebrickfan.com/lego-launches-initiative-for-sustainable-lego-bricks-and-boxes/

[Digger of Bricks]

Here's the press release:

Quote

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.

Production has started on a range of sustainable LEGO® elements made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugarcane. The new sustainable LEGO ‘botanical’ elements will come in varieties including leaves, bushes and trees.

“At the LEGO Group we want to make a positive impact on the world around us, and are working hard to make great play products for children using sustainable materials. We are proud that the first LEGO elements made from sustainably sourced plastic are in production and will be in LEGO boxes this year. 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.

Uncompromised quality and safety

The new sustainable LEGO elements are made from polyethylene, which is a soft, durable and flexible plastic, and while they are based on sugar-cane 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, and consumers expect from LEGO products.

“LEGO products have always been about providing high quality play experiences giving every child the chance to shape their own world through inventive play. Children and parents will not notice any difference in the quality or appearance of the new elements, because plant-based polyethylene has the same properties as conventional polyethylene,” said Tim Brooks.

The unique LEGO brick design, and the LEGO Group’s uncompromised focus on quality and safety during the past 60 years ensures that two LEGO bricks produced decades apart can still fit together. As the LEGO Group is working towards using sustainable materials in its core products and packaging, it will remain strongly rooted and driven by the uncompromised focus on high product quality and safety.

Building children’s future one brick at a time

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. Read more here.

“It is essential that companies in each industry find ways to responsibly source their product materials and help ensure a future where people, nature, and the economy thrive,” said Alix Grabowski, a senior program officer at WWF. “The LEGO Group’s decision to pursue sustainably sourced bio-based plastics represents an incredible opportunity to reduce dependence on finite resources, and their work with the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance will allow them to connect with other companies to continue to think creatively about sustainability.”

About LEGO elements made from plants

– Polyethylene elements are 1-2% of the total amount of plastic elements produced by the LEGO Group; The sustainable product range covers LEGO® botanical elements such as leaves, bushes and trees made entirely from plant-based plastic.
Plant-based polyethylene used in LEGO elements is made from ethanol produced from sugarcane.

– The sugarcane used is sourced sustainably in accordance with guidance from the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance (BFA) and is certified by the Bonsucro Chain of Custody standard for responsibly sourced sugarcane.

– All suppliers must comply with the LEGO Group’s Code of Conduct, which specifies strict requirements for ethical, environmental and health & safety standards based on leading global guidelines.

– The LEGO Group works closely with its suppliers to ensure life-cycle assessments are conducted, which map the environmental impacts from the production of the bio-based material.

What is a sustainable material?

There is no common definition of a sustainable material. Several aspects influence the sustainability of a material. It is to a high degree determined by its source, chemical composition, its use (in a product) and management (at end-of-life), and the impact it can have in both environmental and social areas.

The LEGO Group believes a new sustainable material must have an ever-lighter footprint than the material it replaces across key environmental and social impact areas such as fossil resource use, human rights and climate change.

About sustainability at the LEGO Group

– The LEGO Group partners with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), as part of efforts to reduce CO2 emissions in manufacturing and supply chain operations, and promote global action on climate change.

– Through investments in wind power, the energy used to make LEGO bricks is balanced by the production of renewable energy.
The LEGO Group targeted 2030 to reach zero waste in operations, and introduced sustainable paper pulp trays for the LEGO advent calendar, reducing plastic waste from going to landfill.

 

[xxix5]

Just now, Digger of Bricks said:

Here's the press release:

 

my concern is maybe over time it will get too flexible, and the figures will start to bend.

[Aanchir]

21 minutes ago, xxix5 said:

my concern is maybe over time it will get too flexible, and the figures will start to bend.

This is polyethylene plastic they're describing, which is not a material they normally use for figures. It's used for parts that are already softer and more flexible than a typical LEGO brick like LEGO tree leaf/branch pieces, flower stems, etc. Also, the chemical composition of the plastic should not be substantially different; it's just a change in the processes and materials they use to create it.

[koalayummies]

But, do they taste better?

[MAB]

They will taste and feel the same. It doesn't matter what the source of the components are, the properties of the polythene from bio-sources will be the same as those from oil-based sources.

[JGW3000]

Here is the deal, guys (and gals), since I make this stuff also and conduct research into alternatives.  The plastic is polyethylene (PE), which is made from ethylene.  The PE does not care what the source of ethylene is, as long as the ethylene is better than 99.9% pure, which is required for large scale production, and will always be part of any process, regardless of source hydrocarbons.  Ethylene can be made from - ethane, propane and natural gas liquids in shale gas or natural gas via steam cracking, from the same components and heavier (naphtha, gas oils) as occurring in various process streams and distillation fractions in crude oil refineries, again via steam cracking, from a new process by reaction (oxidative coupling) with methane, or by condensation of ethanol.  Ethanol is mostly made by fermentation of sugar.  Sugar is a food meant for human consumption.

If you examine all of the aspects of producing PE (a lifetime impact analysis), you will find that the process having the least environmental impact (in terms of both energy required and CO2 and other pollutants emitted) is from steam cracking of natural gas components, although this process still has a high impact and consumes about 1-2% of total world-wide energy use.  Making PE via ethylene/ethanol/sugar/plants, no matter how it is framed, is not carbon neutral, requires a lot of energy to conduct (planting, growing, weeding, harvesting, transportation of biomass and ethanol, etc.)  At best PE from sugarcane is only marginally less impactful than from natural gas.

If oxidative coupling from methane works, then this will be the go-to process for making ethylene, but it is at least 10 years out.  If you must use biomass, than using the non-consumable fraction (corn stover, cane baggage, etc.) is the way to go, and there are processes to do so, but cost significantly more while having a lower total impact.

Rest assured that your new PE bricks will perform the same as the old, and please don't taste them or encourage children to do so!

 

Personally, I find using edible foodstocks to make chemicals morally wrong.  That sugarcane should be used to feed people, not make toys.

This claim by TLG is good PR, and nothing more.

 

[ColletArrow]

3 hours ago, JGW3000 said:

Personally, I find using edible foodstocks to make chemicals morally wrong.  That sugarcane should be used to feed people, not make toys.

This claim by TLG is good PR, and nothing more.

It's interesting to get the perspective on this from someone with good knowledge on plastic processes, and unfortunately, I agree with you on this last point. Most people will see that "made from plants" is better than "made from oil", without considering that those plants might have been feeding people.

I believe another issue with using any crop for fuel or plastics, is that as demand for that crop increases, so does the space used for cultivating it. In many countries, the ever-rising demand and profitability of more crop space is causing large-scale deforestation.

So, is the initiative a good idea? I'm not really sure either way. I don't want companies to continue raiding the earth of its oils, but neither do I want them to take food away or encourage deforestation. It's a tricky one.

[JGW3000]

The best option, and is much more renewable, is to make new polyethylene from recycled polyethylene.

[rodiziorobs]

4 hours ago, JGW3000 said:

Personally, I find using edible foodstocks to make chemicals morally wrong.  That sugarcane should be used to feed people, not make toys.

I mostly agree with this, and I only say mostly because I believe there is some nuance to the situation.

If chemical production is being prioritized over food production due to some external factor such as government policy, then I have an issue with that, as it gives those food producers incentive to get out of that industry on a large scale, which ultimately hurts people.

However, I don't think the technological uses of food crops should be ignored, either. Brazil's ethanol economy is a notable large-scale economy where both ethanol and sugar are derived side by side from the same crop. Efforts are made to use the whole plant, and non-consumable parts that can't be used for ethanol or for food are pressed into fuel, which is then burned to run the distillation plants themselves. There are downsides and undesirable consequences (like any industry), and the situation is far from perfect, but it has gotten better and shows that both interests--food and chemical production--can be served in tandem, if the conditions are right.

As for deforestation, it is driven so much by food-as-food demands (as opposed to food-as-fuel) such as beef or food-use sugar that unless sugar-based PE really takes off, I don't see it affecting this issue much.

Also, I believe that this kind of process (using food an other plant sources as plastic or even structural material) will come about one way or another. I would rather a world in which a small private company like TLG does the research in refining and correcting the process to where it is sustainable over some major industry player. I think as a company they are generally conscientious and responsible. By the time this process catches on, they may have found a way to do it right with truly reduced impacts, both ecologically and on food economies.

33 minutes ago, JGW3000 said:

The best option, and is much more renewable, is to make new polyethylene from recycled polyethylene.

This also can't be overlooked. Since most PE products, both high- and low- density varieties, are designed to be disposable, it would make sense that long-lasting 'legacy' products like Lego bricks be made out of already-used plastic rather than new plastic.

[DOOM!]

Will there also be a sugar free alternative? 

[Lyichir]

On 3/2/2018 at 6:50 PM, Blk69 said:

Concerned over time these bricks will break down.  Also what happens when they get wet (like when a child puts them in their mouth).  Hope TLG has done a lot of R&D before they release.

Neither of those should be an issue because plant-based polyethylene is chemically close to identical to fossil fuel-based polyethylene. There’s a reason Lego is starting out replacing this material and not ABS, and it’s not just the serendipity of many plant parts being made of PE.

[Faefrost]

On 3/1/2018 at 10:04 AM, xxix5 said:

my concern is maybe over time it will get too flexible, and the figures will start to bend.

They are using what’s known as PLA. It’s the most commonly used plastic in the 3d printing community these days, having supplanted ABS due to ease of use and lack of plastic emissions when printing. It’s actually much harder than ABS. If anything it’s a bit brittle compared to traditional plastics. It will however soften and deform at relatively low temps compared to ABS. So leaving it in a hot car in summer may cause warping. 

On 3/2/2018 at 6:50 PM, Blk69 said:

Concerned over time these bricks will break down.  Also what happens when they get wet (like when a child puts them in their mouth).  Hope TLG has done a lot of R&D before they release.

It’s the same stuff they use for biodegradable picnic utensils. Like the knives and forks you get at Disney. If it is injection molded it is considered food safe. 

[knotian]

Being heat deform-able might be an advantage, allowing the making of more realistic foliage. Lego forests look like clones, not natural.

[dr_spock]

You can do that now with a heat-gun to soften and melt LEGO parts.  With PLA you can use the low heat setting on the gun. 

 

[Giantorange]

On 3/2/2018 at 2:57 PM, JGW3000 said:

 

 At best PE from sugarcane is only marginally less impactful than from natural gas.

Personally, I find using edible foodstocks to make chemicals morally wrong.  That sugarcane should be used to feed people, not make toys.

This claim by TLG is good PR, and nothing more.

 

Surely the point is that natural gas and crude oil is a dwindling resource worldwide.  At some point (and I don't mean just for toys) we are going to have to look at other hydrocarbon sources for all our plastics.

I don't think the issue of deforestation, or developing countries pushing to grow cash crops rather than food crops is a small issue and can be overlooked.  But if you are not using oil/gas what are you going to do?

[Bricked1980]

Had to laugh when I read this article in the Sun, British newspaper...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5724195/lego-bricks-made-sustainable-plastic-materials/

According to their headline Lego will now be making their bricks from Botanical elements including leaves, bushes and sugar cane. Just goes to show how easily the media get their facts mixed up and the journalist obviously hasn't researched the article correctly.