Building A Better World

With the Pacific Northwest suffering through has been the hottest days ever seen in Canada in the history of recorded temperatures, it would seem that climate change is very real. Some will continue to deny that climate change even exists which will see me mock those people, but it's pretty clear that the 21st century is seeing some monumental shifts in the weather patterns from what we saw two or three decades ago. The effort to change our futures so that we get back to more moderate seasonal temperatures begins at home. In the case of Lego, that means brick by brick.

In case you haven't noticed, this isn't a hockey story at all, but there is a hockey tie-in at the end. Please read all of this to see how hockey can make a difference before the article concludes!

Lego, as you're likely very aware, has endured for decades while other toys have disappeared thanks to its ingenious interlocking brick system. Those bricks are made of plastic - something that is choking our planet to death due it not being biodegradable. Canadians alone generate 3.3 million tonnes of plastic waste per year with 2.8 million tonnes of that waste ending up in landfills. Just 9% of that plastic waste is recycled each year as per Oceana.

Lego is rarely thrown out as people have found secondary markets to sell Lego sets on as well as handing it down from generation to generation. Again, the toy has stood the test of time, and people rarely dispose of Lego bricks by discarding them. In knowing this, Lego's next steps might be some of the most impactful steps taken by one company when one considers for how long people hold onto their Lego sets.

According to a decree they published today, Lego stated that they will "make LEGO bricks from sustainable sources by 2030 without compromising quality or safety" while investing "up to USD 400 million over three years in various sustainability initiatives, including in phasing out single use plastic in all its product boxes by 2025". One of the ways that they'll do that is by collecting plastic bottles that are not recycled as much as the beverage companies want you to believe, and they'll turn those bottles into new plastic bricks used in their Lego sets!

According to Lego, "A one-liter plastic PET bottle provides enough raw material for 10 2 x 4 LEGO bricks" which is an incredible feat if they can make this work.

"Experimentation and failing is an important part of learning and innovation. Just as kids build, unbuild and rebuild with LEGO bricks at home, we're doing the same in our lab," Lego Group Vice President of Environmental Responsibility Tim Brooks said.

Imagine the vast amounts of plastic that could be removed from the ocean, from waterways, and from landfills if Lego can perfect this process. And while some kids don't find playing with Lego bricks very fun, it might be time to re-invest in some imagination and some creativity by introducing kids of all ages back to Lego in order to help them recycle as much plastic as possible.

What makes this incredible is we're seeing new and unique companies do rather amazing and innovative things to reduce plastic in environments across the world. Switzerland, for example, outfitted its National Men's Hockey Team at the Swiss Ice Hockey Challenge with jerseys made from recycled plastic through Waste2Wear. Mint Hockey in Minnesota makes shooting pads from 100% recycled plastic. Hub1916 Sportswear is selling an undershirt made from 14 plastic bottles. And, of course, we've seen the NHL dabble in recycled plastic jerseys and the KHL has tested them out as well.

What needs to happen is for these companies to find ways to not only recycle the plastic into new things as they've done, but have a sustainable return policy where people are credited for returning the product to be recycled once more. For example, the shooting pads will eventually wear out through use, and Mint Hockey should offer a credit for a new one if the old one is shipped back. Creating a self-sustaining market for one's own product ensures repeat business, and that's the goal for all businesses - customers who come back again and again.

On the other side of the coin, we need groups like CCM, Bauer, Nike, and Adidas to really step up and start driving this idea of turning old, discarded plastic into something new. They have the financial means to make something like this happen, and it would make a huge impact on the world if they started cutting into the tonnes of plastic waste seen each year on the planet.

Granted, we could and should demand that companies stop using plastics in a lot of their products, but we still need to remove a lot of the plastic we've already produced and discarded from the planet. Having companies like Waste2Wear, Mint Hockey, Hub1916, and Adidas producing new items that won't be discarded as quickly with the backing of some major players like the IIHF, NHL, KHL, and other leagues will make a difference moving forward. It won't solve the problem entirely, but any solution that gets us closer to being plastic neutral is better than doing nothing at all.

If Lego is doing it brick by brick, if Waste2Wear is doing it team by team, and if Hub1916 and Mint Hockey are doing it player by player if and when someone buys their products, it's time for the big players - Adidas, Nike, the NHL, the IIHF, and others - to back these efforts. Good neighbours remind one another to recycle, so let's see these multi-billion dollar businesses act like good corporate citizens for once.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!