After announcing an eco-friendly form of its plastic bricks earlier in the year, Lego has now introduced the first complete set to feature the new material. The kit features a fully motorized wind turbine in a nod to the company's sustainability ambitions, with a tree made from plant-based plastics tucked in underneath.
Lego's Vestas Wind Turbine set features 826 pieces in all, which when assembled will form a meter-tall wind tower complete with motorized turbine, drawing power from a small battery box. This motor spins the turbine blades and also switches on a cottage light underneath, which sits in front of a tree-lined hillside.
Among those trees is where you'll find the model spruce tree made from the company's plant-based plastic. This is a product of Lego's Sustainable Materials Centre dedicated to developing more sustainable production methods for its beloved plastic bricks, in this case resulting in a polyethylene plastic piece made with ethanol sourced from sugarcane.
While a single plastic tree obviously won't put a dent in the world's enormous problem with plastic waste, it appears to be the first of some important steps Lego is taking to reduce its environmental footprint. The new kit was conceived in partnership with sustainable energy company Vestas, and it says it offsets 100 percent of the energy used to make its bricks through investments in wind energy. It plans to scale up the use of sustainable materials from here.
The Vestas Wind Turbine set also includes three figurine workers, a service vehicle and a patio with chairs. It will be available from November 23 onwards for a price of US$200.
Source: Lego
