Toy Takeback scheme launched

Following on from the announcement made a few weeks back about the future of Matchbox being more about EVs and recycled material which you can read here, Mattel have now announce a new scheme they are calling ”Mattel Playback”.  This new scheme allows you to print a FREE shipping label from the website Mattel.com/PlayBack so that you can package up and send back your old Mattel toys so that on arrival they can be sorted and either repurposed or recycled back into new toys or energy to produce new toys.

Richard Dickson, President and Chief Operating Officer, Mattel said “Mattel toys are made to last and be passed on from generation to generation, A key part of our product design process is a relentless focus on innovation, and finding sustainable solutions is one significant way we are innovating. Our Mattel PlayBack program is a great example of this, enabling us to turn materials from toys that have lived their useful life into recycled materials for new products.”

This new program launch is designed to help Mattel recover & reuse the materials from old no longer wanted toys so that they can achieve their target of 100% recycled, recyclable or bio-based plastic materials across all of their products and packaging by 2030.

“At Mattel, we are committed to managing the environmental impact of our products,” added Pamela Gill-Alabaster, Global Head of Sustainability, Mattel. “The Mattel PlayBack program helps parents and caregivers ensure that materials stay in play, and out of landfills, with the aim to repurpose these materials as recycled content in new toys. It is one important step we’re taking to address the growing global waste challenge.”

For the launch of this new effort Mattel will be accepting any Barbie, Matchbox or MEGA branded toys for recycling with other brands to be added in the future.  The program will also initially only run in the USA & Canada but its is planned to extended this to France, Germany & the UK shortly after.