Looking for a LEGO® Recycling Program?
Here's the honest answer: LEGO bricks can't go in your recycling bin. But there's a better way to keep them out of the landfill — and it pays you.
Why Can't LEGO® Bricks Be Recycled?
The same thing that makes LEGO bricks great makes them terrible candidates for recycling. Most bricks are molded from ABS plastic — an extremely durable material chosen so bricks made decades ago still click perfectly into bricks made today.
That durability is the problem for recyclers. ABS is hard to melt down and reprocess, and LEGO elements are actually made from a mix of different plastics, so most municipal recycling centers simply won't accept them. Bricks tossed in a curbside bin are typically pulled out at the sorting facility and sent to a landfill anyway.
The bottom line: there is no curbside recycling for LEGO® bricks. The sustainable choice is reuse — getting your bricks into the hands of someone who will play with them.
Doesn't LEGO® Have Its Own Take-Back Program?
The LEGO Group has experimented with keeping bricks in circulation. LEGO Replay lets people in the U.S. donate used bricks, which are cleaned and passed on to children's nonprofits. It's donation-only, so you won't be paid for your bricks — worth knowing about, but a different goal than selling.
LEGO also ran a Brick Take Back pilot that offered gift cards for trade-ins, but that pilot has ended. If you were hoping to trade your bricks in with LEGO directly for money, that door is currently closed in the U.S.
So your realistic options come down to: donate them, hand them down, or sell them. We cover all three in our complete guide to what to do with old LEGOs.
"Recycling" LEGO® the Right Way: Your Options
Sell them (and get paid)
Box up your loose bricks, ship them to us free, and get paid by the pound. Your bricks get cleaned, sorted, and passed on to new builders.
Donate them
Charities, schools, and programs like LEGO Replay accept used bricks. An option if getting paid isn't a priority for you.
True recycling (last resort)
For broken or damaged bricks that can't be played with, search for a specialty plastics recycler that accepts ABS. Few do.
Tossing vs. Selling Your Bricks
Throwing them away
- Bricks end up in a landfill
- Decades of playability wasted
- You get nothing
Selling to us
- Bricks get a second life with new builders
- Free prepaid shipping, no sorting
- You get paid by the pound
The Greenest Bin for Your Bricks Is a Shipping Box
Keep your LEGO® out of the landfill and put cash in your pocket. Free shipping label, no sorting required.