Japanese Mobile Phones To Get Corny -- And Eco-Friendly

TECH SPACE

Japanese Mobile Phones To Get Corny - And Eco-Friendly

The two firms successfully reinforced a polyactide resin, a bio-plastic made mainly from corn, by adding in fibers of kenaf, which is a type of hemp, the spokesmen said.

Tokyo (AFP) Jun 14, 2005
Japanese firms NEC and Unitika have developed a plastic made of corn for mobile telephone bodies, meaning users who choose to get a more high-tech gadget need not fear polluting the environment, company spokesmen said Tuesday.

The computer giant and the major textile maker said they had already produced mobile phone samples with the new material, which is 90 percent plant-based, and aim to sell them by June next year.

The two firms successfully reinforced a polyactide resin, a bio-plastic made mainly from corn, by adding in fibers of kenaf, which is a type of hemp, the spokesmen said.

"Polyactide resin is an eco-friendly material as it can bio-degrade after being in the soil for a long time but the use of the material had been limited because it's subject to heat and shock," said Unitika spokesman Yutaka Imura.

"But this new material is tough enough to be used for mobile phone bodies, which require considerable strength and heat resistance," Imura said.

The two companies plan to mass-produce the material within a year for shipments of mobile phones to be produced by NEC, the spokesman said.

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TECH SPACE

Recycling iPods Might Not Be So Green

Washington (UPI) June 7, 2005
The runaway success of Apple's iPod in recent years already is showing its age, as some fans of the digital music device have begun getting rid of or trading up their players.

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