The drive for greener and more environmentally products has driven many designers into getting onto the go-green bandwagon. Bionic-Chargers, Solar Chargers, Micro-Fuel Cells and now the Bamboo Cell phone which was the brainchild of Gert-Jan van Breugel from the Netherlands cannot get any greener than any other gadget on the market to date. The concept phone has it’s casing made from wood taken from the bamboo plant, the world’s fastest growing grass which can grow as much as 3 inches or more in a single day. The cell phone has been hailed by some as the most environmentally friendly phone which has taken green a step further. The phone minus the circuit board, antenna and battery pack, can be tossed into the compost heap which degrades into mulch and with some embedded bamboo seeds integrated into the design sprouts and gives you an added bonus to your garden. Bamboo is considered to be a good producer of oxygen due to its fast metabolism. It also has abilities to clean the air for the stalks and leaves filter particulate matter form the air leaving you breathing a little bit easier. It has been known to cool the immediate surroundings so much that it is recommended for poolside areas where cooling and shade are issues due to the degrading hole in the ozone layer which allows more UV radiation to get through.
Being a fast growing grass, supply wouldn’t become a problem for many tropical countries abound with the said grass. The case also has components derived from corn in the form of biodegradable plastic which also degrades in the compost heap. All the features were showcased in the Greener Gadgets Design Competition which challenged designers from all over the world to produce gadgets and gizmos that are more environmentally friendly and less impacting on the environment. It also has a built-in hand crank (similar to the ones found on wind up radios) which allows the user to charge the device if the batteries does go flat on you.