News.blog: The biodegradable laptop

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

This Fujitsu Lifebook is made of plastic from cornstarch

This Fujitsu LifeBook sports a chassis made from 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 per cent less carbon emissions. Those vials (pictured at left) to the side show the progress from corn kernels to plastic.

Fujitsu has also used the plastic on mobile phones and point-of-sale terminals. The products are only currently available in Japan. Following pollution problems and the oil shock of the 70s, Japan embarked on a somewhat aggressive environmental programme. Although environmentalism rises and dips, energy efficiency programmes have remained somewhat strong. As a result, Japan remains one of the largest markets and producers of solar power.

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