NEC looks to roll out phones made from cashew nut shells

Yup, we had the same incredulous look on our faces when we first caught whiff of Japan tech corporation NEC proposing future cell phones to be made out of cashew nut shells. According to NEC, they’ve developed a bio-plastic which is 70% made out of a compound which is an amalgamation of cellulose and cardanol, with cashew nut shells as its primary building block. It will be different from other bio-plastics since the new compound itself is made from agricultural waste. NEC will need to run more research on this new compound before they are able to make it safe for public release, and we’re looking at a 3-year timeframe. It will definitely be much more costly compared to regular plastic, and it goes to show that not everyone can afford to save the world, either. You could do other non-expensive green actions though such as reducing (or eliminating) the use of plastic bags and walking to work instead of driving a block down.