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.
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