Old phones blossom

An unwanted mobile phone is planted and turns into a beautiful bloom. This novel idea has its roots in down-to-earth science.

A team of engineers at a British university, working with a high-tech materials research and development company, have found a way to make it happen, thus solving a major modern problem. Mobile phones are one of the most quickly discarded items of consumer electronics today. Rapid changes in technology mean that customers are constantly upgrading their phones, and throwing away their old ones. It has been estimated that in Europe alone more than 100 million mobiles are discarded each year. The new research by engineers in the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick, at PVAXX Research & Development and Motorola have created a mobile phone case that, after being planted in compost, disintegrates in a few weeks and later becomes a flower.

Dr Kerry Kirwan, who is leading the Warwick group, said:

"This was achieved by using a special formulation of a biodegradable polymer range, developed by PVAXX Research & Development in conjunction with our researchers. The polymer has the huge advantage of looking good with a high quality finish but which also breaks down easily in compost."

The engineers at WMG also created a small transparent window in the case or cover in which a seed could be embedded. The environmentally aware mobile phone users can see the seed that will stay safely cocooned in its window until the time comes to recycle the phone case. The seed will then germinate and grow - and a heap of old phones will turn into a field of flowers. For the first prototype phones they have used dwarf sunflower seeds.