Greener consumer electronics

Consumer electronic products have become an absolute necessity in today's day and age in which oil-based products and plastic components are used in abundance. But with the ecological imbalances in play and high wastage levels, a lot of encouragement is given to the usage of eco-friendly products and parts. A lot of companies have stepped forth with worthwhile initiatives to partly or wholly replace conventional plastic.
The team up of Fujitsu Ltd, Fujitsu Laboratories, Ltd., and Toray Industries Inc. succeeded in coming up for the first time with a large case made of bioplastics which was launched in 2005 models of Fujitsu's notebook computers. The project started in 2002 when Fujitsu and Fujitsu Laboratories jointly developed a plant-based material mainly composed of polylactic acid, to be used in the manufacture of notebook computer cases. Problems with durability and flame resistance were obstacles to further applications, however. Toray Industries entered into the project and made it possible to use this new material, a one-to-one mixture of durable petroleum-based resins and plant-based plastic, in about 60% of the computer casing, including the back of the display and the bottom of the main body, thus making the whole product more biodegradable.
Although the cost of the new material was relatively high compared with that of conventional materials, there has been no substantial increase in manufacturing cost. The biodegradable plastic can be recycled after use and its use can result in a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by about 15% over the entire product life-cycle, compared to conventional petroleum-based resins.
Following its success in launching its first biodegradable computer case, Fujitsu announced the first keyboard to be made from renewable materials, replacing 45% of the plastic keyboard components with materials from renewable sources. The keyboard KBPC PX ECO has been extremely successful that the company said that in making the switch to renewable materials for this product, Fujitsu is able to save about 60,000 kilograms of plastic per year.
This was followed by the launch of the world's first biodegradable computer mouse that is 100% recyclable.  Made from the ARBOFORM? and BIOGRADE?, the Fujitsu Mouse M440 ECO joins the keyboard KBPC PX ECO in the line-up of accessories manufactured from renewable materials. By using biodegradable materials from renewable sources, Fujitsu promotes sustainable production and helps reduce CO2 emissions during the manufacturing process. At the other end of the product life-cycle, less plastic waste is destined for landfill – since the mouse is made from 100% biodegradable materials.
The ECO model looks like a normal high-quality plastic mouse, and offers all the latest functionality such as a scroll wheel, plus high accuracy thanks to a 1000dpi optical sensor. The Mouse M440 ECO is more comfortable to use than plastic-based models since its BIOGRADE shell has more elasticity than other renewable materials, allowing for an ergonomic design that is focused on user comfort, and suitable for both left and right-hand users.
The ARBOFORM palm-rest that runs the length of the keyboard, and the bottom part constitutes renewable materials whilst the rest of the keyboard is made from traditional oil-based plastic and other non-renewable materials.
Other companies are also on the same "green" path. The Asus EcoBook bamboo laptop, released by AsusTek contains no toxic materials and is easy to recycle. These laptops mark a step towards making technology environmental friendly and is part of the company's strategic effort to deploy renewable materials in its products.

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