Tokyo, Japan--February 17, 2004-- Sony Corp has announced the development of a flame-resistant plastic made mainly of corn-based polylactide which it has jointly developed with Mitsubishi Plastics in Japan.

The electronics equipment manufacturer says the new plastic will be used for the front panels of its new digital disc players, which are due to be launched in the third quarter of this year.

Sony claims that the new plastic is as strong as ABS resin, which is widely used in the electronics industry. The company says that the plastic could also have a wide range of other applications in a host of other industries.

Sony has used a number of plant-based plastics in the past, which have proved popular due to their bio degradability, flexibility and flame-proof qualities.

Sony’s first use of PLA was for a film wrap used for a line of mini audio discs. That package was the first to receive the GreenPLA designation. It has also used corn-based products for secondary wrapping, such as blister wrap for its products. Such secondary wrapping is also proving to be popular for food industry applications.

The Biodegradable Plastic Film and Sheet "ECOLOJU", was first developed by Mitsubishi Plastics in Japan, utilizing advanced plastic processing technology. The raw material of ECOLOJU is polylactic acid.

Polylactic acid is a biodegradable plastics made from agricultural renewable resources, the fermentation of corn. ECOLOJU has excellent properties comparable with general purpose plastic film and sheet. The superior characteristics of ECOLOJU are good dead fold and twist retention properties, good flavor and aroma barrier properties as well as good water permeability. Mitsubishi Plastics is a manufacturer and distributor of plastics and plastic products.

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