Materials Science
Braskem to supply green plastic to the LEGO Group

Braskem, the world’s largest biopolymer producer, will supply the LEGO Group with its I’m greenT polyethylene, a globally certified plastic made from sugarcane. Already in 2018, Green Plastic will be used in the ‘botanical’ elements range, such as trees, bushes and leaves of the Danish company known worldwide for its building bricks. 

“The partnership reinforces Braskem’s successful strategy to focus on sustainable and innovative products,” said Gustavo Sergi, Renewable Chemicals Director at Braskem. “Green Plastic is part of Braskem’s renewable products portfolio, which has a robust  growth and development strategy for the coming years”.

Today, Braskem’s Green Plastic is present in more than 150 brands in Europe, United States, Asia, Africa and South America. The resin has high versatility, being used from food packaging to personal care products, passing through more durable goods such as chairs and vases.

The Green PE is 100% recyclable and contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases. The production process begins with dehydrating ethanol, which is obtained from sugarcane, to transform it into green ethylene, which then goes to the polymerization units, where it is transformed into polyethylene. The sugarcane plastic then goes to third-generation companies, the so-called converters, which transform it into products.

The world’s first renewable biobased polyethylene to be produced on an industrial scale, Braskem’s I’m greenT plastic has been produced since 2010 at the Triunfo Petrochemical Complex in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, which is the world’s largest industrial plant making ethanol-based ethylene, with annual production capacity of 200 kilotons.