Finally, an affordable solution to the landfill problem: Fujitsu and Sony have figured out how to use biodegradable plastics in their high-tech gear.
This fall Sony will reintroduce that classic from the 1980s, the Walkman tape player, with 90 percent of its casing made from vegetable-based plastic. Fujitsu plans to use the same plastic in the shell of its Biblo laptop computers starting in 2004.
The magic ingredient in this plastic is polylactic acid, a corn-based polymer. Fujitsu experimented with the substance in industrial tape in 1996 but could not produce it cheaply. Two years ago, Cargill Dow, a joint venture of the Dow Chemical Co and the commodities processor Cargill Inc, came up with a cheaper version that is as strong as the plastic in most consumer electronics. The plastic disintegrates in just a few months, with the speed depending on the soil composition, temperature and the extent to which the plastics are exposed to air.
Fujitsu has begun using the corn-based plastic in bits of its laptop computers but says more flammability tests will be needed before it can become the chief material. Less petroleum is needed to produce the degradable plastic, and no dioxin is emitted when it is burned or buried. Once it is in full use, it is expected to make up the entire housing, making sorting and disassembling the machine easier. That is an important cost savings for Fujitsu, which under Japanese law is required to collect and recycle the computers it makes.
The computer's imprimatur may also win it more contracts from Japan's government, which has a mandate to buy environmentally friendly products.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last