Lego Group adds How2Recycle Label to its packaging

The Lego Group, Denmark, has joined the How2Recycle initiative, providing U.S. consumers with guidance and encouragement to responsibly recycle their Lego packaging. The first Lego boxes with How2Recycle labelling will be rolled out across the U.S. throughout 2018.

How2Recycle aims to promote recycling by reducing confusion through creating a clear, well-understood and nationally recognized label that enables companies to convey to consumers how to recycle a package.

By the end of 2018, more than 60 percent of new Lego boxes in the U.S. will feature the How2Recycle Label. The Lego Group says it aims to further extend the How2Recycle Label to nearly all new North American products during 2019.

“Every day at the Lego Group we strive to make a positive impact on the world for children, and work to play our part today in protecting the Earth’s finite resources for future generations,” says Tim Brooks, vice president of environmental responsibility for Lego.”

Brooks continues, “Lego bricks are designed to be reused and handed down through generations, but not everyone keeps their Lego boxes. Implementing the How2Recycle Label on Lego packaging is an important step in minimizing landfill through clear guidelines, encouraging consumers to responsibly recycle their packaging.”

Insights show many recyclable products and packages end up in landfill, as many consumers are confused about which items can be recycled, and how to sort them.

The How2Recycle Label is a project of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and is the first standardized U.S. recycling labeling system designed for consumers. It has changed recycling behavior among consumers since it launched on packages in 2012.

More than 60 leading brands, such as Campbell’s, Unilever, PepsiCo and McDonald’s, have added this labeling to their packaging. Several retailers such as Target and Walmart also are supporters, How2Recycle says, adding it to all their private label packaging and encouraging their suppliers to do the same.

The Lego Group says it already has taken several steps to improve the sustainability of its packaging. 100 percent of paper and cardboard used in Lego products and packaging is sustainably sourced and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, the company says. The green box initiative reduced packaging size and improving transport efficiency, saving up to 10,000 truckloads to date.

Lego Group outlines its other sustainability efforts:

• During 2017, the Lego Group celebrated achieving its 100 percent renewable energy target. Through investments in wind power, the energy used to make Lego bricks is now balanced by the production of renewable energy.
  
• In June 2017, the Lego Group extended its partnership with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) as part of efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in manufacturing and supply chain operations and promote global action on climate change.
  
• The Lego Group has committed to make all products and packaging from sustainable materials by 2030 and has made progress in testing new materials, such as introducing sustainable paper pulp trays for the Lego advent calendar and reducing unrecyclable black plastic waste from going to landfill.