Beloved Danish toy company Lego Group will be releasing a series of plant-based plastic landscaping elements—including leaves, bushes, and trees—for its Lego kits this year. The horticultural elements are made of a plant-based polyethylene derived from sugarcane.
Creating the iconic miniature building blocks out of responsibly-sourced materials is in alignment with the company’s sustainability goals, which aim for zero-waste production by 2030, according to a company press release. This is Lego’s first step toward its commitment to produce all of its toy blocks through more sustainable methods.
To bring the bio-based product to fruition, Lego partnered with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and joined the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance (BFA) as well. “The Lego Group’s decision to pursue sustainably sourced bio-based plastics represents an incredible opportunity to reduce dependence on finite resources, and their work with the BFA will allow them to connect with other companies to continue to think creatively about sustainability,” said Alix Grabowski, a senior program officer at WWF, in the same release.
The company says that any element made from the plant-based plastic will adhere to the same design and quality that the toy has retained for the past 60 years.
The softscape elements are now available in select Lego box sets.