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Mazda is working on plastics made from waste wood and other plant material and hopes to be using the material in its cars by 2013. The Bioplastic Project, in collaboration with Hiroshima University, has been established to develop a material strong enough to be used for vehicle bumpers, and with enough durability to make dashboards from.
In process similar to that used to make second generation biofuel, waste plant material such as wood shavings is turned into ethanol which will then be converted into ethylene and polypropylene.
Mazda claims this process is carbon neutral and, unlike alternative materials made from soy or cornstarch, does not remove food resource.
Mazda has already developed a bioplastic which it used in the cabin of its hydrogen-powered Premacy RE Hybrid. Now it wants to make the material commercially viable.
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