Recycle and Repurpose Unwanted Toys! Featuring Mattel

Throwing old toys in landfills is a thing of past. Nowadays, we have teamed up with brands like Mattel to reduce our carbon footprint. You can give a new life to your old Mattel toys through Mattel’s PlayBack program. This is basically a toy take-back program by one of the leading toy companies in the world. The program aims to recover and restore materials from the old Mattel toys and produce new ones which are more fun and reliable.

The company aims to use 100% recycled, bio-based plastic materials across all its products and packaging by 2030, and you can help them achieve this goal by returning your child’s unloved Mattel toys to them.

How to Participate In Mattel’s PlayBack Program?

To participate in the program, please visit mattel.com/playback and print a free shipping label. Next, pack your child’s timeworn Mattel toys into that label and send them back to the company. After receiving your toys, the company will separate and sort them based on their material types for recycling purposes.

In case a toy cannot be recycled or repurposed, the company will downcycle its materials. Currently, Mattel is only accepting Barbie® products such as the Barbie Cake Decorating Bakery Playset, Matchbox®, and Mega® toys. However, more toys will be added to the PlayBack program in future. With that said, the company cannot provide an exact timeframe for when the additional Mattel toys will be included in the program, According to Pamela Gill-Alabaster, Mattel’s head of global sustainability.

Is Mattel’s PlayBack the Same as Lego’s Replay Program?

Both Mattel and Lego allow consumers to return toys through free shipping labels. However, there’s a massive difference between how these programs work.

For example, Lego takes back unwanted Lego bricks and donates them to schools or other charities for kids. In 2019 and 2020, the company received over 131 tons of Lego bricks from about 30,000 families across the U.S. and Canada.

On the other hand, Mattel recycles and repurposes old toys to ensure valuable materials remain out of landfills and of use to children.

It doesn’t donate toys.

Even if there are unrecyclable toys, they will either be downcycled or converted to waste to produce energy instead of being donated.

In What Countries is the PlayBack Program Available?

Mattel’s PlayBack program will initially be available in only the USA and Canada. In future, however, the program will be expanded to France, Germany, and UK through third parties.

Final Words

Mattel is one of the top toy companies in the world which is famous for creating innovative toys for children. Over the years, the company has produced plenty of iconic toys such as Barbie, American Girl, Jurassic World, and more.

Currently, Mattel is trying to reduce the number of unwanted toys sent to landfills and incinerators through its PlayBack program. Please help the company to achieve this goal and return all your outgrown Mattel toys to them for recycling.

For more information, please feel free to reach out to us. We’d love to help you play your part in creating a clean environment.