An Appetizing End to E-Waste
Working with Cargill, a leader in bio-based green packaging, and with Ferran Adria, chef of Spain’s three-star Michelin restaurant elBulli, in 2011 electronics industry giant Sony will unveil a new PlayStation made from completely edible materials.
Recent reports have highlighted the major costs from packaging and energy used by game systems, with Sony often near the bottom of the pack in environmentally conscious initiatives. But by combining recent developments in durable materials made from wheat, corn, bulrush and other plants with Adria’s cutting-edge molecular gastronomy, Sony has created the first electronics that can be consumed by consumers once newer products are marketed.
With today’s announcement, Sony marks a new era in what the company is calling “managed planned obsolescence.”
“We know that our successful marketing means that the average family goes through nearly eight game consoles by the time their children turn eighteen,” said Sony US spokesman Calbert Triffid. “But now parents will no longer have to deal with piles of e-waste gathering dust around the house. Our new consoles combine the fun kids are used to with great taste that their parents will love.”
“As has occurred in most fields of human evolution down the ages, new technologies are a resource for the progress of cooking,” Chef Adria remarked. “What better way to synthesize this dynamic than to literally combine food and technology in new and tasty ways.”
The new consoles will be available in mid-2011, and by the end of the year Sony expects to add to the original variety and extra crispy version. Nintendo is rumored to be working with diet guru Jenny Craig on a similar low-calorie version for their Wii Fit consoles.