Will Lego soon be made of hemp?

Published

9 years ago

November 27, 2017

Last March, the Lego Group unveiled the world's largest wind turbine made from Lego to celebrate its goal, achieved 3 years ahead of schedule, of consuming 100% of renewable energy.

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The Group's next objective, set for 2030, Lego's goal is to replace one of the basic products used in its bricks - petroleum - with more sustainable alternatives. Lego currently uses over 6,000 tonnes of petroleum-based plastic a year to manufacture its bricks.

The biggest challenge is to find a substitute that has the same durability, functionality and look as the brand's current pieces.

Quartz reported this summer that the toy manufacturer was taking a keen interest in bioplastics. Today, bioplastics account for only 1% of the plastic produced, but the market is evolving rapidly, with growth of +20% per year.

Hemp plastic

One solution for producing bioplastics is to use hemp. Hemp can be used as a basis for the manufacture of biodegradable plastic materials stronger than fiberglass.

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Hemp offers a number of advantages in terms of cost (it's made up of 70 to 80% of cellulose) and biodegradability, whereas a simple plastic bottle takes between 450 and 1,000 years to biodegrade.

So why not end up in Lego bricks? Especially since Denmark, the home of Lego, is also opening up its cannabis frontiers a little more, with a 4-year medical cannabis legalization pilot project.

This could be an opportunity to combine the useful with the medical!