by: Joel Makower
Researchers at the University of Warwick in central England have created a novel Motorola cell phone cover with a unique end-of-life proposition: bury it in soil and it will turn into a sunflower.
If that seems like a less-than-earth-shattering development, think again: Green consumerism continues to search for its own Pet Rock.
For those too young to recall, the Pet Rock became a bona fide sensation in the U.S. in 1975 when Gary Dahl, a California salesman, began marketing a plain rock in a cardboard box, along with a “training manual,” for $3.95. Dahl sold more than a million Pet Rocks (culled from some three tons of stone imported from Baja, Mexico) and enjoyed his 15 minutes of unbridled fame before fading into Trivial Pursuits oblivion.
Since then, “Pet Rock” has become shorthand for the ability of something to become a fad seemingly overnight.
For years, purveyors of environmental products have pondered when their “Pet Rock” will arrive: what cool product would capture the imagination of consumers — and, not insignificantly, the media — to catapult sales, and consciousness, of environmentally preferable goods?
Could the sunflower phone be environmentalism’s Pet Rock? It’s too early to tell, but I like it's odds.
How does it work? British researchers spent two years creating a cell phone cover from a special formulation of a biodegradable polymer that produces a high-quality finish but which also degrades easily in compost.
Then, the engineers created a small transparent window in the cover in which they can embed a seed. The seed is visible but won’t germinate until the phone cover is recycled. The researchers drew on the specialized seed expertise of researchers in the University of Warwick's horticultural research arm to identify seeds that would perform best in this situation. For the first phones they used dwarf sunflower seeds.
The researchers hope the casing will be commercially available in the next two years.
None of this, of course, addresses the environmental impact of the phone’s innards — like most electronics, a witch’s brew of heavy metals and other toxic materials. That’s the next challenge the research team plans to take on.
Until then, our Pet Rock will be put on hold.
Original Post: http://makower.typepad.com/joel_makower/2004/12/biodegradable_p.html
