Lego Launches Recycling Program
2020-01-02
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1Legos have been a popular toy for children for more than 60 years.
2When children get older, boxes of plastic Lego bricks often end up unused and stored in out-of-the-way places around the home.
3Parents sometimes end up throwing the Legos away.
4Now, the Lego Group toy company is testing a program to make sure the unwanted bricks do not go to waste.
5The program is called Lego Replay.
6It aims to make sure the unwanted building blocks continue to make children happy.
7Tim Brooks is the Lego company's vice president of environmental sustainability.
8He told VOA, "Nearly all Lego bricks we see that are out there have lots more play value in them -multi-generations of play value. It's a waste of energy and resources to grind them up and make new bricks."
9Brooks said the idea came from parents who do not know what to do with the old bricks.
10Placing old Legos in waste containers is not a good answer.
11Birds and other wildlife may try to eat what looks like colorful food -- with deadly results.
12With the Lego Replay program, parents load unwanted Legos of all shapes and colors into boxes.
13Then, they go to the program website and print out a mailing label.
14The boxes are sent to processing centers, where the bricks are sorted, cleaned and shipped to aid groups and donation centers.
15Two groups taking part in the test program are Teach for America and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston.
16In the last two months, Brooks said, the two groups have received 3,000 boxes of Lego bricks.
17Users have downloaded about 9,000 shipping labels.
18Brooks said the Lego bricks made 60 years ago can still be used as part of a Lego set manufactured just last week.
19He added, "You can't think of many things you can buy off the shelf today that work exactly with something you bought in the late 1950s..."
20The Lego Replay test program is set to last through March.
21If it is successful, the program may be expanded to include other Lego products.
22The Lego Group is also looking at other materials to use in their toys.
23While plastic has proved to be the strongest material, Lego has begun making some bricks out of sugar cane.
24I'm Jonathan Evans.
1Legos have been a popular toy for children for more than 60 years. When children get older, boxes of plastic Lego bricks often end up unused and stored in out-of-the-way places around the home. Parents sometimes end up throwing the Legos away. 2Now, the Lego Group toy company is testing a program to make sure the unwanted bricks do not go to waste. The program is called Lego Replay. It aims to make sure the unwanted building blocks continue to make children happy. 3Tim Brooks is the Lego company's vice president of environmental sustainability. He told VOA, "Nearly all Lego bricks we see that are out there have lots more play value in them -multi-generations of play value. It's a waste of energy and resources to grind them up and make new bricks." 4Brooks said the idea came from parents who do not know what to do with the old bricks. Placing old Legos in waste containers is not a good answer. Birds and other wildlife may try to eat what looks like colorful food -- with deadly results. 5With the Lego Replay program, parents load unwanted Legos of all shapes and colors into boxes. Then, they go to the program website and print out a mailing label. 6The boxes are sent to processing centers, where the bricks are sorted, cleaned and shipped to aid groups and donation centers. 7Two groups taking part in the test program are Teach for America and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston. 8In the last two months, Brooks said, the two groups have received 3,000 boxes of Lego bricks. Users have downloaded about 9,000 shipping labels. 9Brooks said the Lego bricks made 60 years ago can still be used as part of a Lego set manufactured just last week. He added, "You can't think of many things you can buy off the shelf today that work exactly with something you bought in the late 1950s..." 10The Lego Replay test program is set to last through March. If it is successful, the program may be expanded to include other Lego products. 11The Lego Group is also looking at other materials to use in their toys. While plastic has proved to be the strongest material, Lego has begun making some bricks out of sugar cane. 12I'm Jonathan Evans. 13Kenneth Schwartz reported this story for VOA News. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 14_________________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16toy - n. something a child plays with 17brick - n. a block of something 18sustainability - n. the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level.