Hoshino launches biodegradable USB drive

IFA 2009: Crumbles in 140 days

7 September 2009 12:19 GMT / By Duncan Geere

Prowling around the quieter corners of the floor of the IFA tradeshow, we discovered a company from Shenzhen in China called Hoshino that's selling what it claims is the world's first biodegradable USB flash drive.

We were told by the company that once you've taken the metal bits out, 90% of the plastic outer should degrade in 140 days, when it's in a landfill. In regular usage, though, you shouldn't notice any degredation at all.

Ecological principles are beginning to rise to prominence among gadget manufacturers, with flatscreen TV makers touting the energy saving features of their devices, and many products getting a hard "off" button, rather than just a standby mode.

The Eco flash drive isn't currently available in the UK, but we'll let you know if Hoshino manages to get a distributor sorted.

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