Cell Phones Into Sunflowers

Motorola says it may take until at least the second quarter of 2005 to get a commercial plastic cell phone cover made of the new material onto the market

Researchers have developed a new plastic material that turns into nitrates when it degrades. What better use for it than making cell phone covers, each with an embedded sunflower seed? The seed will sprout using the nitrates released from the cover as it degrades. This year, 650 million mobile phones will be sold, and will be thrown away in two years. At that rate, the already overburdened environment will be loaded up with even more non-biodegradable plastics, chemicals and heavy metals. This polyvinylalcohol polymer looks like any other plastic, however it biodegrades into soil when discarded. At the request of Motorola, Pvaxx Research and Development came up with the new material. Says Pvaxx spokesman, Peter Morris, ?EUR??,,????'??This is the first product that we've made public. We're working with blue chip companies and will introduce several products next year. ?EUR??,,????'??

In addition to the cell phone covers, they're planned for use in electronics, horticulture, ammunition and household cleaning.