If you were to guess what brand is the world’s largest tire manufacturer, what’s your call? Does French giant Michelin have the global recognition to come out on top? Does the sheer brand spread of Goodyear put it in the lead? How about Continental? Actually, it’s none of those. The world’s largest tire manufacturer is Lego. Yep, the toy company. In a way, it’s also the smallest maker of tires. Or, at least, the maker of the smallest tires.
Alright, so the tiny rubber tires on cars made of little bricks aren’t known for the same performance as say, the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R or the Pirelli PZero Trofeo RS, but Lego makes more than 300 million tires per year. That’s about 50 percent more than Michelin’s annual production, and with new kits being rolled out all the time, Lego doesn’t seem to be giving up the crown anytime soon.
However, that doesn’t mean it’s not time for change, and the Lego tires of the future are going to be a bit kinder to the earth than the Lego tires of the past. A few weeks ago, the company announced tires made with at least 30 percent recycled content, mostly old fishing nets, ropes, and engine oil. If we’re getting technical, it’s a recycled styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene blend, a type of thermoplastic elastomer.
While this isn’t the same as using 100 percent recycled materials, turning old trash into new solid tire compounds makes a ton of sense, especially given how Lego tires aren’t exactly subject to high forces. Sure, those scale Technics models look really cool, but I’m doubtful they’ll experience say, the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca.
Interestingly enough, companies that make tires for full-sized cars are also on the recycling train. Continental uses recycled polyethylene terephthalate to make the polyester fabric used for tire carcasses, currently using up to 15 bottles per tire. Sure, this isn’t the same as using sea trash to make tire compounds, but if recycled materials are good enough for 300-treadwear summer tires, they’re probably good enough for the toys on your mantle, right?
So, how will you be able to tell Lego’s partially recycled tires from its old ones? Well, that’s the trick, you won’t. The first styles of these tires are already being used in multiple Lego sets, and the company claims that more than 120 sets will use the new tire tech by the end of the year.
Admittedly, it’s been a while since I last picked up a Lego set. I used to have a ton of fun playing with bricks as a kid, and although changing to partially recycled tires probably wouldn’t make it more likely that I buy some bricks, it certainly doesn’t hurt. No matter which side of the fence you’re on, times like the here and now could use a little extra whimsy. If that whimsy’s partially recycled, well, that’s kinda nice, isn’t it?
Top photo credit: Lego
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Lego made an attempt at using more recylable materials in their bricks and it did not go as well as hoped. I suspect that the actual fitting of pieces together didn’t provide adequate stickion. Since tires are not reliant on the studs for attachment, rather through the center-fit, tires are much better target for testing reclcyable materials.
Just please don’t ever let these things burn. That’s a lot of styrene.
15 Bottles per tire? Are they really small bottles? Do they open each bottle one at a time? So many questions. Lol
Lego are actually a great carbon sink, because they last forever and no one throws them away. If we could use excess solar power to do direct air capture of CO2 and make the byproduct hydrocarbons into Lego, we’d have a real solution to climate change!
I actually talked to a lady recently who said she threw away her kid’s LEGO when he went to college and I died a little inside. I showed her what even bulk brick boxes sell for on eBay, let alone complete sets, and her eyes got really wide.
My parents wisely saved ALL my childhood LEGO, and while I’ve taken much of it back for my own children, there’s still an entire closet full of sets and pieces. My problem is I’ve added so much to my own LEGO collection, I don’t have any room left for the rest of my childhood bricks.
Building with Lego should be a requirement for every 4-8 year old boy (and great for girls too). And not model specific kits. Just a variety of blocks and your imagination.
For 30 years I’ve been involved in schemes to promote STEM careers for women, and here we are still adding “and girls” in brackets after anything remotely technical.
We already have a surplus of STEM workers, why add more fuel to the fire? Send those women into MBA programs instead.
Don’t follow your dreams! Don’t try to do anything interesting or different that advances knowledge! Just do whatever companies say you should do!
Yes indeed. Follow your dreams…to massive student debt and no job offers.
You’re gonna have debt regardless of what degree you get. May as well get it in something that you enjoy. The actual specific degree you have has also become less important these days – companies just want people who are put together, interview and communicate well, know how technology works, and show up every day.
Also LMAO “send them” like they have no autonomy to make choices for themselves.
There’s a middle ground between where you two are positioned. Do something that you love that can also realistically provide you with stable income to support yourself.
My oldest kid in middle school really wanted to be an illustrator last year. She’s great at art, but the chances at making a decent living drawing pictures is not great.
But, that doesn’t mean she can’t go into a field that uses her creative side. She can get into graphic or web design. Or, go into a field that you may not love but that is in high demand, and then do what you love on the side.
(PS, I would never hire someone fresh out of college to my team who just is a hard worker with a general idea of how technology works. Those traits are fantastic, but unfortunately do not mean someone will be able to understand complex ERP systems and their code. Degrees and experience in specific subject matters absolutely still matter).
Soooo, how does a fresh college grad get experience, if no one will hire them without experience? This is part of problem with tight labor budgets, can’t bring on greens to learn the ropes without impacting team performance.
This isn’t a new problem but there are many ways now to get a foot hold in industry. Hopefully you completed some internships or paid co-op program (I went specifically to a college that offered that 25 years ago because it is so important), I am seeing around $24-$26/hr for co-ops now in my area. Those folks, assuming they are worth keeping around, will likely get a chance at the company they have experience with or will leverage that experience so they don’t have to list jobs on a resume that have transferable skills.
All the engineering companies I know claim there is a shortage of engineers. Maybe in the US it’s different.
Either way there should be gender equality in the industry, and also in any unemployed surplus.
My field of engineering absolutely has a shortage of engineers in the US.
we absolutely do not need more MBAs. holy shit!
I had an old job in educational administration (Govt’ sector not business) where my direct supervisor and his direct supervisor both had MBA’s and were sociopathic bullying middle managers. By the time I left they convinced one of my direct reports to enroll in an MBA program as well. I always wanted to ask them why none of them were putting their degrees to use by working in the private sector.
The Autopian oughta do an annual instrumented comparison test of the different tires available on Lego vehicles.
Engineer a spec racecar & spec offroad rig with Technic parts and see which tires work best on various surfaces. Regular bricks, smooth bricks (the ones without studs on top, forgetting the official name), carpet, hardwood floor, dirt, grass, maybe even some rock crawling. You could do small & full-size builds too, with fully functioning suspension so the tests can be as wild as possible.
Your team combines engineering knowhow and creative freedom better than any other publication. I have no doubt you could all make it happen, on a “world’s greatest drag race” level of production quality and internet fame.
Do it 🙂
the flat ones with studs on top are called plates and the smooth ones are called tiles.
themoreyouknow.gif
I think we found the AFOL.
I have gotten many sets since/because of covid. I don’t have a whole city thing going on or like that though, lol.
I didn’t know AFOL was a named thing until recently. lol
I like the modular buildings, original trilogy Star Wars sets (UCS Millenium Falcon), and some Batman sets (89 Batmobile, 89 Batwing, Adam West Batmobile). I was also working on a MOC for the Death Star docking bay to display the falcon until I lost interest.
They’re gonna need a lot more Corinthian Leather members if this is going to happen. I love LEGO models, but they are sooo expensive.
If my own house is any example, you can find at least half of all LEGO tires ever produced inside your nearest vacuum cleaner.
If I had one piece of feedback for Dyson, it would be that all their vacuums be able to handle a standard 2×4 brick without clogging the one-way valve, requiring microsurgery on the vacuum to repair.
I do not say this from experience, just spitballing here.
My kids are now twenty-something adults, but we still have random lego pieces appear on the floor. The cats must have a stash somewhere.