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[Photos] Tracey Williams,

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[headline] The great Lego spill

[body]
In 1997, a lone cargo ship was struck by a devastating wave. Out of 62 shipping containers tossed
overboard, one ruptured and spilled its contents – five million plastic toy bricks – which have been
washing up on England’s shores for decades.

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[headline] Shipwrecked Legos

[standfirst]
Along the beaches of Cornwall, tourists and locals have been finding curious and colorful pieces of
plastic debris. Miniature diving flippers, spearguns, sharks, seagrass fronds and scuba tanks wash up
along England’s beaches each year – all as a result of one particular accident

[body]
As a result of what is now known as the worst toy-related environmental disaster of all time, beachgoers
in Cornwall and elsewhere have been finding brightly coloured Lego toys on the coast for the past 25
years.

On 13 February, 1997, Lego bricks and other goods were loaded onto a cargo ship in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands. The Tokio Express was en route to New York when an unpredictable rogue wave smashed
into the side of the ship around 32 kilometres off the coast of western Cornwall.

Rogue waves were once believed to only live in sailor’s tales, given the stories told about both their
unpredictability and immense height. In recent years, however, the National Ocean Service has verified
their existence, though it has admitted that following and researching them has been difficult.

The captain of the ship described the wave as a “once in a 100-year phenomenon”, as it caused the
Tokio Express to rock upon impact, tilting 60 degrees one way, then 40 degrees to the other. 62
containers were thrown overboard as a result, including one special container filled with nearly 4.8
million pieces of Lego. Quite fittingly, the majority of these pieces were a part of toy kits for sea
adventure-themed sets, including Lego Pirates and Lego Aquazone. As a result, sea grass, dragons, spear
guns, life preservers and more aquatically-themed toys were tossed into the sea.

Since then, those that visit Cornwall’s beaches have continued to uncover these shipwrecked plastic
treasures. In fact, collectors looking for rarer pieces like octopuses and green dragons share locations
and maps to help one another. Tracey Williams – a Cornwall environmentalist and author of Adrift: The
Curious Tale of Lego Lost at Sea – has been a part of the effort for years.
"These days the holy grail is an octopus or a dragon. I only know of three octopuses being found, and
one was by me, in a cave in Challaborough, Devon. It's quite competitive. If you heard that your
neighbour had found a green dragon, you'd want to go out and find one yourself," she says.

[subhead] Effects on the environment

Unfortunately, thrusting millions of Lego pieces into the ocean does not bode well for the environment,
as plastic pollution can take centuries to degrade. In fact, scientists recently analysed Legos and how
long exactly it would take for them to break down, finding that it could take up to 1,300 years for the
Legos from the 1997 spill to fully deteriorate. They published their results in the July 2020 edition of
Environmental Pollution, an international peer-reviewed journal.

Andrew Turner, an environmental scientist at the University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom and
lead author of the new study, said ‘Lego is one of the most popular children’s toys in history and part of
its appeal has always been its durability. However, the full extent of its durability was even a surprise to
us.’

“The pieces we tested had smoothed and discoloured, with some of the structures having fractured and
fragmented, suggesting that as well as pieces remaining intact they might also break down into
microplastics,” Turner added.

Millions of animals are affected by plastics each year, and until they break down, these Legos can
seriously harm a multitude of marine organisms. Though it is unlikely that birds and fish will become
entagled in Legos, the toy could be ingested, blocking digestive tracts or even piercing organs, causing
serious harm or death.

In particular, microplastics – defined as plastic particles smaller than 5 millimetres across – have been
found essentially everywhere scientists have looked: deep oceans, Arctic snow, shellfish, table salt,
drinking water and even beer. They can inhibit the growth and development of fish, cause toxicological
effect and even bring about genetic harm. And even when plastics do deteriorate, they can release
substances that disrupt animals’ hormones and affect their reproductive cycle.

[subhead] Lego stepping up

LEGO has acknowledged that its products have an environmental impact, and is now developing
bioplastics, aiming to make bricks from more sustainable sources by 2030. Currently, the majority of
Lego bricks are made from ABS plastic, which is petroleum-based.

Tim Brooks, head of corporate responsibility at the Lego group, said "We want to use plastic in a
responsible way, and particularly where it is in a high quality, durable and reusable application. And
that's what Lego bricks are," said Brooks.

As of now, Lego is experimenting with using a sugarcane-based plastic for about two percent of their
bricks. These pieces are mostly trees, bushes and leaves in Lego kits, as the requirements for these
pieces are a little different from others.

The company is also working to improve its packaging by reducing the amount of plastic bags separating
pieces and downsizing its boxes to reduce transport volumes. By 2030, Lego will have hopefully solved
many of the issues that come with creating a company that churns out around 125 million pieces of
plastic each day.

[vocab]

unpredictable (adj)

rock (v)

shipwrecked (adj)

deteriorate (v)

durability (n)

ingest (v)

sugarcane (n)

churn (v)