The biodegradeable laptop

Michael Kanellos | Aug 20, 2007

You've seen picnic ware and household items made out of biodegradeable plastic. Now, here's a notebook with a biodegradeable chassis.

This Fujitsu LifeBook sports a chassis made of a plastic made from cornstarch rather than petroleum. It costs more, but it's green. Put the chassis in a landfill and it will go away over the course of months. Real plastic will take decades.

Producing the cornstarch-based plastic, which comes from a supplier, also results in 15 percent less carbon emissions. Those vials to the side, by the way, show the progress from corn kernels to plastic.

Fujitsu has also used the plastic on cell phones and point-of-sale terminals. The products right now are only available in Japan. Following pollution problems and the oil shock of the 1970s, Japan embarked on a somewhat aggressive environmental program. Although environmentalism rises and dips, energy efficiency programs have remained somewhat strong. As a result, Japan remains one of the largest markets and producers of solar power.

You will start to see more stuff like this in the US and Europe, though. The cost of bioplastic will also decline as companies like Cereplast and agricultural bigwigs like Archer Daniels Midland expand production.

Filed under: Notebooks
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pie

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pie says...
Does Fujitsu pass on the cost of "loving the Mother Green Earth" plastic-to-cornkernel chassis switch to the customers too? Let me guess...OUI?

Aug 22, 2007 10:50