First look at LEGO’s new sustainable paper bags coming in a retail set!

October 26, 2022 | 14

At RLFM Days 2022 in Billund, Denmark, we were treated to an awesome presentation on LEGO’s progress on their sustainability efforts, specifically on the upcoming switch from inner plastic bags to recyclable paper bags.

We heard from Therese Noorlander, Senior Director, Sustainability Engagement and Anne Boye Møller, Project Manager, who are spearheading and leading LEGO’s sustainability efforts.

Excitingly, we were treated to an exclusive look at one of the first retail sets that have been packed with these paper packaging, which I’m honoured to be able to share.

But before that, some background on why LEGO is doing this.

LEGO has a target of completely transitioning their packaging to renewable or recycled materials by 2025. One of the chief culprits of single use plastics are the numbered polybags that contain bricks, and if you’ve built a large set, you’ll be very familiar with having to deal with dozens of these hard-to-recycle plastic bags after you’re done.

Among LEGO’s recent achievements to get to their 2025 goal has been baseplate packaging switching to paper (which is already on shelves), their deeply unpopular decision to phase out LEGO Minifigure packaging to unfeelable paper boxes in 2023, as well as unveiling the very first prototype LEGO brick made out of recycled plastic.

If you’ve bought a LEGO set recently, you’d have noticed flyers or manuals in alluding to LEGO’s shift to paper-based packaging, hinting at a gradual transition where fans will start seeing a mix of paper and plastic bags inside boxes.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the first-generation LEGO sets that are packed with paper bags.

Each fan media representative was handed a copy of a Creator 3-in-1 set 31111 Cyber Drone, which was released in early 2021, and at first glance, it looks like a regular LEGO set with regular LEGO packaging.

Clarification: Have just been informed by LEGO that this graphic does not necessarily indicate the presence of paper bags, and is instead just a legal requirement in France and Italy, and only indicates there is some recyclable material within the box, not that the box has paper bags vs. plastic ones.

Apologies for the error!

The only clue that you’ll a set with paper packaging (and this might change depending on region) is this little diagram on the side of the box which alludes to the fact that all packaging components (box, bags and instruction manuals) can be recycled.

Here’s what will greet you when opening these new boxes. In the case of 31111 Cyber drone, there are 2 of these paper bags inside, which match the original configuration of 2 plastic bags.

Here’s a look at the 2 paper bags, and oh, did I mention that these paper bags can stand??

Here’s a look at the base of the bags, which can be folded and flattened to allow these paper bags to stand on their own. It’s pretty bizarre that LEGO bags can stand, but I guess this is what living in the future is like.

Here’s a better look at the individual bags, which have codes, a QR code and this lovely illustration of various LEGO bricks on them.

And yes, because they’re paper, you can also colour the bricks in, which can be a fun little activity for younger kids.

Interestingly, the bags aren’t completely opaque and they’re a little translucent as well, allowing some of the brighter more vibrant colours to peek out!

A cool new feature of these paper bags is that there is a perforated line at the top of the bags, which helps make it easy to tear.

It’s super satisfying to tear, and works pretty well.

And that’s it, once torn open, you can’t reseal them again, and unless you want to scribble on them, you can just pop them into a recycling bin for paper/cardboard and you’re done!

I for one am glad that I won’t have to amass bags and bags of these single-use plastic bags and routinely take them to a special bin for soft plastic recycling.

Overall, this is a great and positive change for LEGO, and I can’t wait for these to roll out. Hopefully, as in the case of 31111 Cyber Drone, we’ll begin seeing more of these inner paper bags in some of the new 2023 sets.

Ultimately, there is no strict timeline of when you will start seeing this, as LEGO is already transitioning factories and production lines over, and it’ll largely depend on where you are in the world. From what it sounds like, work has already begun in the Czech Republic factory, so Europe might be one of the first to see these popping up.

I also made a short video showcasing the unboxing experience of the 31111 Cyber Drone set with paper bags. One of the key things I was worried about was that LEGO’s distinct “rattle” would disappear because of the transition, but I’, happy to report that it does sound good when you shake the box, albeit with a slightly more muffled sound.

If you’re interested, here are some other insights and takeaways that we learned from the LEGO Sustainability team in Billund, on the development and process behind these paper bags.

• There will be numbered and unnumbered paper bags, with unnumbered paper bags being used for certain small Creator 3-in-1 sets which typically use most of the bricks for the build
• LEGO’s consumer research revealed that consumers were energised by the presence of these sustainable paper bags and one of the findings was that the numbers printed on the paper bags were more legible and easily noticeable
• In the last 4-5 years, LEGO have tested plenty of paper materials to arrive at the most suitable material that would be sturdy enough that elements with sharp edges/points would not pierce
• More than 70 different paper types were tested and one of the dealbreakers was that the paper needed to be easily recyclable
• A nice discovery of bags being made of paper is that smaller elements are less likely to get stuck in corners/accidentally get tossed out
• It has taken time to get right because this change will eventually roll out to all products, and all of LEGO’s factories around the world
• LEGO did consider re-sealable bags, but ultimately scrapped it as it would then contain plastic, and would not be fully recyclable in a normal recycling bin
• The rollout on LEGO’s factories will be gradual, and is currently happening, with the aim of being fully completed by 2025

If the topic of LEGO and Sustainability interests you, be sure to check out some of LEGO’s previous announcements on sustainability and explore LEGO’s Sustainability section online.

What do you think of this change to paper bags, and are you looking forward to it?

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