Lego A/S, the world’s largest toy manufacturer, is getting bigger! The company announced that they will expand and invest in its factories in Mexico, Hungary and Denmark to meet increasing demand for Lego products. Previously, they reported that they would have trouble filling all orders coming from customers for the remainder of the 2015 Christmas season.

They are currently running their factories at maximum capacity according to spokesman Roar Trangbaek.

Lego recently added 2 million square feet to an existing factory in Monterret, Mexico but plans to add more.  The project will include more injection molding, processing, packing and warehousing. Manufacturing should start in 2018.

Similar expansion plans have been drawn up for locations in Hungary and Denmark.

John Goodwin, the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the expansion projects are needed to meet rising demand for Lego toys, which have grown at double-digit annual rates in the past decade.

Infant jaundice is a yellow discoloration in a newborn baby’s skin and eyes. Infant jaundice occurs because the baby’s blood contains an excess of bilirubin, a yellow-colored pigment of red blood cells. The common treatment for Jaundice is phototherapy, is the process of using light to eliminate bilirubin in the blood. Treatment is often very expensive and not practical in developing countries.

A team of researchers working in Nigeria have developed an alternative. They have developed a plastic film that filters natural light, only allowing through wavelengths of light that can treat jaundice. Infants just sit under a canopy made of this plastic film and treatments effectiveness is similar to phototherapy treatment.

This plastic film only costs 50 cents to $1.50 per square foot so it is extremely affordable for everyone and do not require electricity.

The researchers are starting a public health campaign to spread the word!

The Repurpose Schoolbag is made from recycled plastic shopping bags and includes a solar charger. This bag was specifically made for school children in Africa when student, now CEO, Thato Kgatlhanye saw all the children walking to school carrying their books in plastic bags. The backpacks are made 100% from plastic shopping bags.  They include a small solar panel that charges while the kids are walking to and from school.  These solar panels charge a light that can be used for school work and homework because many of the classrooms and homes do not have electricity.

Check out the video below with more details on how they are made!

VetiGel is a plant based polymer that could help stop heavy bleeding and save lives. The company was co-founded by Joe Landolina when he was just a freshman at NYU. The company is based in Brooklyn and has to potential to change the whole health care industry. Right now, it is only being used on animals in veterinary clinics but the company has plans to develop an FDA approved version that is easy to use and available for call.

*Warning – This video is not for the squeamish! *

How many times have you struggled to get the last bit of mayo, the last ounce of ketchup, the last dab of paint or the last drop of glue out of a bottle.  When it comes to thicker, sticky liquids, you often throw away a lot of what you could be using.  Well we don’t have to worry about that anymore! LiquiGlide, a non-stick coating for plastic bottles, is designed to make the inside of the bottle permanently slippery so any thing inside will simply slide back to the bottom.

The video does more justice that we could ever do with words.  Think of the possibilities! Very cool.

The company was started in Cambridge by an MIT professor and a graduate student.  They already have partnerships with Elmer’s glue and a paint company in Australia.

Check out more LiquiGlide Videos and the LiquiGlide Website here!

LEGO is building a new manufacturing site in Jiaxing, China. The manufacturing plant will be on a 75 acre plot and will have 377,000 square feet of space.  They will have several hundred injection presses capable of molding several billion LEGO bricks every year.

The plant is currently under construction and plans to be completed in 2017. It will provide jobs to about 1,500 people.

With the growing Chinese economy, LEGO is expecting more families to be in the upper middle class which translates to more demand for LEGO products.

Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd. has introduced a new self cleaning injection molding machine to the market. Husky claims that the self cleaning injection molding machine will extend cleaning and greasing requirements to 500,000 cycles.  The machine is designed to clean dust build up in the vents with a push of a button. It is estimated that the new machine will reduce maintenance time by 400 hours in a year.

With cycle times getting faster, mold life decreases and maintenance time increases.  This machine is designed to solve this issue and make faster cycles times more efficient.

With the passing of the Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance on March, 30th, Cambridge, MA has become the largest city on the east coast to ban single use plastic bags.  This new law will take effect in March 2016.  Food and retail services must replace plastic checkout bags with reusable bags or offer recyclable paper bags for 10 cents each.  If not, they could be fined up to $300 dollars per day.

The city will also purchase 10,000 reusable bags for low-income residents and the elderly.

With the reduction of plastic waste, the city hopes to protect its marine environment, advance solid waste reduction and protect waterways. Getting people to use reusable shopping bags is better for everyone in the long run. There have been some Cambridge business owners that contest the ban but supporters argue that its environmental benefits outweigh any inconveniences it may cause.

To offset inconveniences caused by the ban, revenue generated by the paper bag fee will go directly to the establishment. Furthermore, businesses have the option to apply for an exemption from the ban in cases of “undue hardship.”

Cambridge joins the nearby towns of Newton, Brookline, and Manchester-by-the-Sea, which have passed similar legislation banning plastic bags.

The PET beer keg is developed by Dispack Projects. It has a nylon valve system that would make the whole keg more environmentally friendly and cost effect for the beer industry. They have been developing 20 liter and 30 liter kegs that have a glass reinforced nylon valve system instead of the traditional standard steel.

The Dolium tanks connects with more standard filling and dispensing systems while the finished system is both lighter to transport, and — because PET is easy to recycle — doesn’t have to be transported back to the beer companies when they’re empty.

3R Recycling Inc., in Avon, MA, will accept injection molded silicone baby teethers to keep them out of landfills. They have teamed up with Mello & Co., a manufacturer of the baby teethers to try to find a market for the raw materials from these baby teethers. 3R’s number 1 goal is to get them out of landfills.

According to 3R Recycling’s website, they are a plastics recycler, “specializing in purification and granulation of post-industrial and post-consumer materials.”

We love to see companies that help to promote sustainable solutions to improve our environment.