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Billund, Denmark, 18 January 2024: We are piloting our brick take-back service LEGO® Replay in the UK and inviting fans to join us as we test how to bring playful learning to more children, and stop LEGO bricks becoming waste.
The good news is that most people in the UK already have a plan for any LEGO bricks they no longer need: 94% of families who’ve decided to pass them on do so to friends, family, charities or local schools, or they sell them* – helping to ensure LEGO bricks are played with again and again.
For anyone that doesn’t know what to do with their unused LEGO bricks, LEGO Replay provides an easy option for ensuring those bricks continue to inspire play and creativity for children.
The new pilot programme will test new uses for the bricks donated by families and fans in the UK. During this exploratory phase, the returned used bricks will be recycled into new items that support learning in schools, such as storage boxes for toys.
Working with charity partners such as In Kind Direct we will fill every new box with LEGO bricks before they are distributed to schools and community centres around the UK to help inspire play and creativity.
Our VP of Environmental Sustainability, Tim Brooks, said; “We’re really proud that so many of our fans in the UK already pass the joy of LEGO play to others. Our bricks are designed to be durable and safe enough to be handed down from generation to generation to inspire endless play and creativity for many years.
“Piloting LEGO Replay in the UK is an important step on our journey to becoming more circular. We want to rehome, repurpose or recycle every LEGO brick to keep them in play for longer. We hope LEGO Replay will help even more people donate their LEGO bricks with ease, and feel proud they are supporting playful learning for children across the country.”
It’s really simple to get involved and help us trial the scheme.
Simply pack up any unused bricks in any box, print out a freepost label from LEGO.com/Replay-UK and ship them from any DPD Drop Shop across England, Scotland and Wales. A freepost service for our fans in Northern Ireland will be available soon.
We’re looking forward to receiving live feedback from our fans about how they like to donate, and testing new ways to provide play and learning opportunities for children by repurposing our products.
Building a More Sustainable Future
LEGO Replay launched in the U.S. in 2019 and expanded to Canada in 2021. So far, over 230 million LEGO bricks have been donated by North American families, giving 300,000 children-in-need playful learning opportunities and preventing LEGO bricks from going to waste.
The UK LEGO Replay trial is one part of our broader circular strategy – including a number of test and learn programmes – with the ambition to advance circular capabilities and concepts. We’ve recently committed to triple spending on sustainability over four years to $1.4 billion. Initiatives include:
- Sustainable and circular material innovation – we’re aiming to make our products and packaging from more sustainable and circular materials by 2032. This includes removing all single-use plastic from our packaging. The rollout of new paper-based bags started in Europe and Asia last year.
- Transition to zero impact operations – reducing our absolute carbon emissions by 37% by 2032 as part of our approved Science Based Target, with the long-term goal of becoming net zero by 2050.
- Inspiring and developing the builders of tomorrow – continuing to provide more children globally with opportunities to develop critical life-long skills through play.
*1 94% of UK LEGO brick owners who’ve decided to part with their bricks give them to family, friends charities or local schools and playgroups, or sell them. Research conducted in 2021 among 1,030 UK LEGO owners.
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