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Sanyo Develops Corn-Based Biodegradeable CD
Recoil_42 writes "PC World has an intriguing article about one way to help ease a growing problem: computer waste. Sanyo, with the help of Dow, has created a biodegradeable disc made of corn. The discs take 50-100 years to degrade, well within acceptable limits, and should come to market by the end of this year. The speedbump, of course, is the projected price: 3 times that of a normal plastic disc, but that cost is expected to be reduced to 1.2 times as (if?) the discs become more popular."
The average consumer is never going to buy a bio-degradable disc if its three times the price of a regular one. The only way to make them popular in the market is have the software and music companies use them and eventually it will trickle down to everybody.
Taken from Microfilm.com: "Under less-than-optimal storage conditions, digital tapes and disks, including CD-ROMs and optical drives, might deteriorate about as fast as newsprint - in 5 to 10 years. Tests by the National Media Lab, a St. Paul (Minn.)-based government and industry consortium, show that tapes might preserve data for a decade, depending on storage conditions. Disks -whether CD-ROMs used for games or the type used by some companies to store pension plans - may become unreadable in five years."
How many times have you seen CD's left to reflect the sun onto the ceiling? Long after the data is lost due to lack of care, the plastic will still be hanging about. I think CDs that have a physical life span are a great idea for the environment. Companies which do look after their CDs can still get their longer lasting ones.
Only problem is that once something "biodegradeable" is buried in a landfill it never goes away. There was a show on a Nova like program about it. In 1000 years you will be able to show the history of makind with garbage.
Sort of like looking at the layers of rock now and seeing fosils from prehistoric times. Instead of animals it will be cartons of milk and boxes of Hungry Man dinners.
Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket?
Say what you want, but in 3000 years those CD's will be in much better shape then a book.
The BBC project to preserve the doomsday book (onto laser disk) was rendered unreadable by advances in computer technology in less than 10 years, whilst the original has been around for ~1000 years and is still totally legible.
The British Government still archives data onto vellum (goat skin) because it has a life span of >>1000 years, but CDs become unreadable in under 10 (maybe 20 for the very best well handled media).
Now, if the data is only going to last for 10, whats the problem with making sure that the media breaks down in 50 instead of leaving it to uselessly fill up a landfil - plus these new ones wont leech industrial chemicals into the water supply, unlike the slower degredation of conventional CDs.
Beep beep.
Actually, feeding the starving millions is pretty easy, as far as getting enough food is concerned. There really isn't a food shortage.
Now, getting the food to them, thats where the feeding gets difficult. If we could figure out how to make sure people got the food they needed, we could end world hunger damn quick.
The problem is, transportation is really expensive. Much more expensive than food.
Also, something which helps keep corn farmers afloat will help deal with such problems in the long run.
Additionally, no current CD is going to last 3000 years. Period. Current CDs only last 50-100 years as it is before the substrate is corroded to the point that the disc is unreadable under even optimum conditions. So I'd much rather have the important ideas written down on paper than on a CD.
Marxism is the opiate of dumbasses
It's not like you can use corn for anything else, is it ? - like feeding the starving millions in the third world.
The hunger in the world is mostly man-made. Lift the tax barriers, and the third world will feed itself in a few years.
echo '[q]sa[ln0=aln80~Psnlbx]16isb572CCB9AE9DB03273snlbxq' |dc
You wouldn't want to do that, because, while food aids can make you feel all helpful and generous, they actually help to destroy local agriculture, by reducing demand and thus reducing revenue for farmers and the motivation to build up a farm in the first place.
/puts on tinfoil hat
It would be more reasonable to give technological aid by helping with e.g., irrigation infrastructure. By doing this you could employ and educate local (third world) technicians and help build up a solid agricultural industry, which is the basis for any further advances like industrialization.
On the downside the third world countries could lose their dependance on the first world, hence we give food aid.
the most sexp i get is my paren-mode.
Tax barriers? What tax barriers? What country has these tax barriers?
Yes, I know, the US has a very onerous tax structure. One of the reasons I didn't go into farming. But that doesn't stop one starving Rwandan from getting some corn meal or wheat flour. (or a nice pound of ground round that ate corn for the last 1000 lbs of its life)
How about the evil Marxist dictators that are the real cause of most countries' food shortages? Spread some democracy and capitalism around and you will fix more hunger than anything else. It will last much longer than JAH (Just Another Handout).
I've been saying right along how i'll buy from indie music groups and movie groups, just to support them. And that i'll pay more for higher fuel efficiency, and that i'm willing to try to only bring home glass and cardboard food containers, so that the glass and exterior cardboard can be recycled. And that i'll buy recyclable/renewable products. *sighing and getting out the wallet* But i'll admit that you who told me that it made more sense to demand approximate equivalency in products have a VERY valid point!
But now it's a chance for me tocheer for the idea, again, and i will. Nobody's going to change ANYthing about waste management until it's a crisis, or because the market insists upon it. This is not the answer, no- this is just a start. But there are lots of things that can be done with trash other than bury it, and it has to start in my home where i decide what kinds of trash i'm going to buy in the first place. (especially since i'm one of the ones who whines about it.)
i realise that other consumers may not feel the same way, and that there's really no reason why you should have to- having the larger part of the populace hold out for a more cost-effective products is important- that steers the market, too.
Now, all i can say is- they better not package this stuff in a regular plastic case with a regular plastic spindle, or i'm going to be so bloody ticked off!!
"I'd say 'Have a good time,' but arson is still illegal.
Oh man, talk about a scam!
1. Convince people that 'oh yea, these will decompose a hundred years after I am dead' and sell CDs for 3x normal cost.
2. ???
3. Profit!
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer