We’ve been awfully excited to use 100% recycled plastic for the shells of our robotic construction kit. We were going to end up using two materials for the blocks: black recycled ABS and clear recycled PET (from soda bottles). Using materials that have already been around the block and into the bin made us feel better about our contribution to the mountain of stuff around us. And that’s why it’s pretty upsetting to find out that we probably cannot use recycled plastic at all.

In 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was signed into law in the US. Don’t get us wrong, the law is a good thing: it protects kids from lead and other harmful substances in toys, and requires mandatory third party testing for all children’s products. One important group of substances regulated by the new law is phthalates, which are chemicals added to plastic during manufacturing to make them more flexible and durable. Heavy exposure to phthalates, unfortunately, has been shown to cause endocrine disruption and infertility.

To comply with the CPSIA, our plastic must meet a certain requirement for phthalate levels. But since recycled plastics are just a mix of old plastics ground up and reheated, no supplier will guarantee that every part will meet the requirements. So while we haven’t given up on our search for a better option, unfortunately it looks like our only option is to use virgin plastic. Any thoughts?