A new technology that blends plant based plastic with plastic waste

13-Jul-05

A new technology to blend plant-based plastic (as the raw material) and waste plastic recovered from scrapped consumer electronics has been developed by Sharp Corp. in consumer electronics. Sharp will be conducting tests to assess the commercial potential of using the new material in consumer electronics products within fiscal 2006. This will reduce the adverse impact of petroleum-based plastics on the environment. Renewable resources are finding increasing usage as feedstock and are moving forward from the perspective of limiting emissions of greenhouse gases, with the aim of building a sustainable recycling-oriented society. Newer developments and technologies will enable to bring down the price of plant-based plastics on a par with general plastics, increasing their market share to almost 30% by fiscal 2010. However, problems remain in terms of impact/shock resistance, thermal resistance, cost and other factors. Their adoption in the area of consumer durable goods, particularly electronic products, remains limited.