content: Plastics in little brick shapes are not environmentally harmful in the amounts that people throw lego away.  It's priced like gold, so it's not discarded in large amounts. Anything not "environmentally harmful" will breakdown when exposed to moisture which is present in the air, into plastic microbeads which actually are harmful, and/or leading to more replacement blocks being produced and shipped.    Retooling the factories is also a huge waste.