The LEGO Group is celebrating a significant milestone in its journey to make all its packaging from more sustainable sources. Over half (56%) of packing lines that package LEGO bricks have now transitioned away from using single-use plastic bags, replacing them with sustainably sourced, technically recyclable paper-based alternatives.

Currently, 93% of LEGO packaging by weight is made from paper, cardboard and other paper-based materials to make the vast majority of LEGO packaging recyclable – something children consider important. Recently LEGO Group research found that four in five (81%) children say they care about recycling, with a similar number (80%) interested in reducing waste*.

Towards Paper-Based Bag 2.0

The rollout of the new paper-based packing lines in the LEGO Group’s factories in China and Vietnam is now largely complete. The company aims for full implementation in the remaining factories in the Czech Republic and Hungary by 2026 and Mexico during 2027.

This will just be the end of phase one, explains VP, R&D packing and packaging, Jesper Toubøl.

“We are on an ongoing continuous improvement journey,” he says. “Once the roll out of bags is complete, we’ll explore ways to enhance and continue to make the bags, and the building experience they offer children and families, ever better.”

Along the way, the company will look for ways to make the paper-based packing lines work faster, so that their output can surpass that of the plastic packaging machines they’re replacing.