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Kristen Bell shows you how Lego will conveniently donate your used bricks to kids in need

Lego does it again - thank you Kristen!

via Kristen Bell/Instagram

Kristen Bell explains the Lego Replay program.

Plastic Lego bricks are so durable they can be played with forever. But eventually, most kids grow out of their Lego phase and parents are stuck with a big bucket of bricks that eventually makes its way to the garbage.

Studies show that it can take up to 1,300 years for a Lego brick to decompose.

However, most people don’t know that when their kids outgrow their Legos, the company will gladly take them back and send them to needy children who can’t wait to play with them. This amazing gesture took actress Kristen Bell by surprise and she had to tell the world about it on Instagram.

How to recyle Legos

“I just figured out that you can donate Legos, back to Lego,” “The Good Place” actress told her 15.2 followers on Instagram. Then she showed how easy it is to print a free shipping label on Lego’s website and send the bricks to kids who really want them.

“We work closely with multiple donation partners who proudly give your much-loved LEGO bricks new life,” the toymaker said on its website. “The children who receive the bricks continue to play with them, creating endlessly.”

The program is a win-win-win for everyone involved. Parents get rid of their boxes of toys, kids in need have something to play with and the planet gets a break from all the plastic.

“I am obsessed with recycling. I’m always looking for some new way to reuse anything and everything around my house,” Bell wrote in her post. “I do love when companies make it really easy. Nice work, @lego!”

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It may sound weird, but Lego is quietly trying to ditch plastics.

For the past 59 years, we've all been building spaceships and castles, experimenting with what head goes on what body, and arguing with our siblings about where the grey 2-by-5 brick went — thanks to Lego.

"The S.S. Awesome can't have any holes in it, Amanda. I know you have that 1-by-8 somewhere." Photo by Kent Gavin/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, circa 1962.

Though nearly indestructible, Legos aren't eternal. The bricks your kids or grandkids play with probably won't be the ones you remember.

Beyond grocery bags and Barbie dolls, Legos might be the most iconic plastic object ever, but making things out of plastic can be problematic.

It's not just that plastic doesn't break down, though that's a major issue with some plastic products. It's also about the carbon footprint to make them. To make a conventional plastic, you have to pump petroleum or natural gas out of the ground, refine it, and mold it. All of these steps take energy and can produce carbon dioxide.

For the last couple of years, Lego has been experimenting with making their iconic bricks from eco-friendly sources.

In 2015, Lego announced it would invest the equivalent of $155 million into finding a non-oil, smaller-footprint source for the various plastic they need to make all those tires, trees, and movie stars.

Fun fact: Lego's apparently one of the world's largest tire manufacturers. Photo from Lego Media Library.

Since then, they have been experimenting with different types of bio-plastics, which can be made from plants like corn or wheat and produce less emissions than conventional plastic.

The goal is to find alternatives for 20 types of plastic by the year 2030.

There are hurdles to making something as durable, flexible, and iconic as a Lego, and the company is still experimenting. Whatever they choose, it'll need to snap together with existing Legos, last just as long, and preserve the aesthetic. Their latest experiment with wheat sugar, for example, failed because it couldn't hold the right shine, as Quartz reported.

This change won't eliminate the carbon cost of manufacturing, nor will it address other carbon costs like shipping, but little changes add up. After all, 19 billion new Lego pieces are produced each year. Furthermore, the Lego company has also been reducing its carbon footprint through other means as well, including investing in an offshore wind farm. In fact, it recently met a 100% renewable energy milestone.

I assume the real wind farm contains a bit more, you know, metal and concrete and stuff. Photo from Lego Media Library.

Playing with Legos has been a nearly universal part of childhood for almost 60 years. Our kids will likely continue to build castles and spaceships, but their future creations — and their building blocks — won't be exactly the same as ours were. And that's a wonderful, necessary step of progress.

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You may not have heard of these 5 women. Which is why this Lego set needs to exist.

Maia Weinstock knows a thing or two about women in science.

She's a science writer, researcher, and a deputy editor at MIT News, who fell in love with biology and astronomy at an early age. "I've always been interested in understanding how our world and universe works," Weinstock said.

She also has a self-described "mission" to inspire young girls to pursue science careers.

While the job market in science, technology, education, and math (STEM) is the fastest growing in the U.S., there's still a pretty big gender problem: Women are vastly underrepresented in STEM careers, making up only about 14% of engineers nationwide according to some estimates.

To help tackle the STEM gender gap, Weinstock decided to start in the toy aisle.

Why? Because according to her (and many other advocates for women in STEM), girls are often steered away from science careers at a very early age.

"Girls are discouraged along the way through a series of barriers," said Weinstock. "This starts from the day they're born, or even before they're born — parents set expectations for how they treat boys differently from girls."

Weinstock designed a set of Lego minifigures made to resemble five of NASA's most influential women.

Image via Maia Weinstock.

The design, submitted to Lego's "Ideas" page, needs 10,000 supporters to be reviewed by Lego designers. Currently, the "Women of Nasa" project has received support from over 5,000 people and has gotten shoutouts from NASA and the UN too.

The five women Weinstock chose are not all famous astronauts. They're a careful mix of recognizable faces and unsung heroes.

There's Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. And Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space.


Photo via Maia Weinstock.

There's also Margaret Hamilton, the computer-scientist who developed the in-flight software used for the Apollo moon missions.

Image via Maia Weinstock/NASA.

Then there's Nancy Roman. Known to many as the "Mother of Hubble" for her role in planning the Hubble Space Telescope, she was also one of NASA's first female executives, as well as a public advocate for women in science.

Image via Maia Weinstock/NASA.

And finally, Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who calculated the trajectories for the Mercury and Apollo missions, including the one that landed human beings on the moon for the first time.

Image via Maia Weinstock/NASA.

Weinstock hopes that seeing successful women depicted as iconic Lego figurines will inspire girls and boys alike.

"We need to value women in positions of power as role models," said Weinstock. "Giving girls toys that show them what they can be is one way to do that. But it's also extremely important for boys to see females in these roles when they go to toy stores, so that it's expected that men and women can and should be a part of the same fields."

Image via Maia Weinstock.

Plus, according to Catherine Hill, a researcher at the American Association of University Women, kids start picking up on gendered stereotypes by the age of 3. Those stereotypes can include the idea that construction toys like Legos are "for boys" and can ultimately discourage a girl from her initial interest in science and engineering.

"My LEGO proposal certainly isn't going to completely change the equation," said Weinstock. "But I do think it would help at the earliest, most impressionable stages.

For Weinstock, diversifying STEM is about inspiring kids as early as possible by paying tribute to the achievements of those who came before.

If the project is picked up, millions of kids could get the chance to learn about and be inspired by the women who've been at the center of our space program for decades.

Maybe it seems like a small step, but as NASA itself has shown us, one small step can change the world.

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Meet 4 moms who created the one toy they wish they had as kids.

Being told that girls are weak and soft and that boys are aggressive and unemotional is about as played out as the Macarena and Harlem Shake. Yet, it still happens often in our society.

We've all witnessed gender stereotyping in our daily lives, but what impact does it have on our children?

A big one.

Studies show that stereotypes can significantly limit a child's full potential and happiness by ignoring who they truly are in order to "fit in" to what society expects of them.

The world can be a confusing place for our children at times. Image via iStock.

But there is some good news, and it comes in the form of toys, which are scientifically proven to help kids learn.

Here's the story behind four cool toy companies you may not have heard of that are shattering stereotypes and helping kids believe they can be anything they want to be.

1. For mom and psychotherapist Laurel Wider, it all started when she heard her son say boys aren't supposed to cry.

The market is full of toys that encourage little girls to express empathy and emotions, but what about the boys? Wider felt she had to do her part to help little boys embrace their sensitive sides.

Enter Wonder Crew. Each 15-inch doll combines the adventure of an action figure with the emotional connection of a stuffed animal. Guess what? Little boys love them.

Boys can be nurturing, too. Photo from Wonder Crew, used with permission.

"Wonder Crew is a part of a new conversation about boys' potential and how feelings and connection are a valued piece of their identity," Wider told Upworthy. "I wanted to create a play experience that empowers them to go anywhere and be anything."

Even if that means being a chef or a superhero.

2. When Alice Brooks was 8 years old, she asked her dad for a doll for Christmas and received a saw instead.

She used that saw to build her own doll out of wood and nails — and 10 years later, she went on to study mechanical engineering at MIT and Stanford.

That's what led Brooks to create Roominate, a line of building sets designed for girls in order to bridge the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Once her company received funding on the hit TV show "Shark Tank," the rest was history.

News flash: Girls like to build stuff, too. Photo from Roominate, used with permission.

"I was lucky that I found my passion at such a young age, but so many girls never think about engineering as an option for them," Brooks told Upworthy. "I believe we need to give girls more options so they can find what truly interests them."

3. Julie Kerwin is a woman who loves superheroes, but she wasn't digging what was out there — especially for little girls.

"Many female action figures tend to be more hooters than heroine," Kerwin told Upworthy.

Her company IAmElemental aims to reinvent the superhero game by creating female action figures that are focused more on powers than looks. She believes that opens up a whole new form of play for little girls.

Meet the badass female superheroes from IAmElemental. Photo from IAmElemental, used with permission.

"By making females the protagonists of their own empowering stories, you can change the way they think about themselves and the world around them," Kerwin told Upworthy.

As a mom of two sons, Kerwin is also quick to point out that IAmElemental is "girl targeted, boy inclusive." That's because she understands the value of teaching boys to see (and play with) strong female action figures.

"We cannot move towards gender equality if we don't teach boys what it means to be a powerful woman," she said.

4. Jodi Norgaard never wanted to go into the toy business, but she took matters into her own hands for the sake of her young daughter.

That's when she created a line of plush sports-themed dolls for girls called Go! Go! Sports Girls to help encourage healthy and active play.

That's not to say that there's anything wrong with fashion and princesses, of course. It's just that Norgaard wanted to give girls more options than what was available.

Girls really dig these dolls. Photo from Go! Go! Sports Girls, used with permission.

"Girls are strong, smart, and adventurous — but instead, many toys geared towards them are focused on how they should look," Norgaard told Upworthy. "Girls love sports and we need more representation of that."

Because in today's world, the word "beautiful" has many definitions.

In order to truly make the world a happier place, we should teach our kids that they can be whatever they want to be — without limitations.

Thankfully, many of the larger companies are getting the memo as well. For example, Lego, usually known as a toy for boys, recently introduced Lego Friends, and little girls love them.

Even though more work needs to be done to change gender stereotypes, it's nice to know that we're heading in the right direction.

So when little Susie says she wants to be a computer programmer when she grows up while little Johnny says he wants to be a nurse, we should just smile and say, "Go for it."

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