The solution
In a September 2026 BBC report, WeBuyBricks of Rawtenstall, Lancashire, says its AI-powered Brick-O-Matic has helped save 25 million Lego bricks from landfill. The company buys unwanted Lego, cleans and sorts the pieces and resells them, and grew out of used-book business WeBuyBooks.
Head of projects Brad Hacking says the machine handles two pieces a second, with capacity of up to 100,000 a day, and that it is more than 100 times more efficient than sorting by hand. Cameras and machine-learning software identify pieces, and jets of air direct them into chutes. The system can also tell staff how complete a set is, and if a set is missing five or ten pieces, it can be set to look specifically for them.
The company, which believes it is the first such machine in the UK, sells sets at 40 to 60 percent below new prices and also sells bundles of loose bricks. All Lego is cleaned, checked for authenticity and has foreign objects removed before resale.
Why it worked
Manual sorting of mixed Lego at volume is very slow.
Recognising 60,000 part types suits a camera and machine-learning system.
Finding missing pieces lets mixed boxes be completed into more valuable sets.
Cheaper pre-owned sets aim to make buying used Lego as normal as buying used clothes.
What can be applied
Automating the one labor-heavy step of a refurbishing business can make a pile of mixed leftovers sellable as complete products.
Aftermath
The BBC says there were more than 10 tonnes of Lego at the site waiting to be processed. The 25 million figure and the efficiency claims are the company's own; no outside verification is reported.
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