Most toys for kids nowadays are made out of plastic. And since we already know the many negative effects of plastic in the environment, the animals (and even ourselves, too), we know that this already is bad news.
One of the most popular toys for kids today are Lego bricks. But these same Lego bricks could also be one of the most infamous pollutants in the near future.
New research has found those classic Lego bricks take between 100 and 1,300 years to fully disintegrate at sea, depending on variations in the plastic's composition and the marine weathering it experiences.
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"It is specifically designed to be played with and handled, so it may not be especially surprising that despite potentially being in the sea for decades it isn't significantly worn down. However, the full extent of its durability was even a surprise to us."
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While weathered blocks from the beach showed various degrees of weakening, yellowing, blunting, fracturing and fouling, researchers were surprised to find the toys largely intact.
(Image Credit: Turner et al., Environmental Pollution, 2020/ Science Alert)