Lego, the popular company that makes toy plastic bricks, has set a target date of 2030 to look for a new sustainable resin to replace ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene)
This has proved to be a difficult task because there are so many factors and standards that this new material must live up to. The new plastic must be just as good as ABS to ensure the new Legos are seamlessly compatible with older Legos. The ability to stay clicked together, or “clutch power” is so important that Lego has developed its own testing system for it.
There must also be a global supplier of this material because Lego has expanded its production facilities to Denmark, Mexico, Hungary and soon China.
The new plastic resin must make sense economically as well as environmentally. They want a non-food feedstock base so they never have to choose between using crops for toys vs using them for food.
Add the fact that this new plastic material must meet all standards written in the 3,082 page legislation regulating toys worldwide, you can see how difficult this is to find.