LEGO's New Program Recycles and Donates Unwanted Bricks

The packages will be sent to Give Back Box's facility, where each piece will be inspected and cleaned by hand before being sent off to Teach For America and Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston for a new life in schools and after school programs. To bring LEGO Replay to life, LEGO spent three years ensuring its packaging and cleaning process meets quality and safety standards in the US.

"We know people don't throw away their LEGO bricks," says LEGO Group VP of Environmental Responsibility Tim Brooks. "The vast majority hand them down to their children or grandchildren. But others have asked us for a safe way to dispose of or to donate their bricks. With Replay, they have an easy option that's both sustainable and socially impactful."

Teach For America and Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston will begin receiving the secondhand sets next month. If the trial period is successful, LEGO says it will consider expanding the sustainable program in the future.

Elsewhere in sustainability, a new public art installation tests and analyzes the East River's water quality.