Lego however is a long-term toy that generally does not break, retains interest form kids for years, and is very frequently passed around between friends and family. One set might last years and years and years and go through multiple families and eBay auctions and Craigslist giveaways etc. Lego themselves even run a recycling program.

Sure don't buy kids cheap plastic tat that only lasts an afternoon or two, but investing in quality educational toys is worthwhile IMHO, both in terms environmental impact and educational benefits.

I'd say that Meccano has always seemed to me to be less of an engineering toy and more of a modelling one; one can make functional machines, but there are few parts capable of free movement. There are so many more ways to build machines with original Lego Technic pieces - gears, belts, pullies etc.

This appears to be a self-imposed limitation and a rather short-sighted strategy on the part of Meccano. They don't sell genuine individual pieces and spares, even though there are multiple third-parties who do manufacture such parts.

> Maybe with laser cutters there's a new market for wooden construction toys.

I hope so. There's an interesting discussion at [2] about which timber lends itself best to mechanical devices, but then there's the additional questions of what subset of those types of wood would also be suited to laser cutting. Additionally, if you combine wood with metal you have to take into account the differential in expansion and contraction between materials. Plastic pieces such as Lego are less susceptible to that effect to start with.

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35501335

[2]: https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/topic/wooden-gears/

At least in my very limited experience, merely the cost of quality wood makes it an expensive material to build toys from.

For example: https://www.communityplaythings.com/products/play/block-play...