Toyota Fights CO2 Emissions through Ecological Plastics

Looks like the green trend has become extremely popular in the car industry. Toyota Motor Corporation has recently made public its intention to provide more vehicle models with ecological plastics. This type of material is plant-derived and is carbon-neutral which means no CO2 emissions.

As a matter of fact, there are two types of ecological plastic: one made from plant-derived materials and the other that results from a combination of plant and petroleum-derived materials. Yet, plants are the key factor when it comes to less carbon dioxide emissions and therefore, ecological plastic appears more attractive than the one made only from petroleum.

The guinea pig will be a new hybrid vehicle next year but the company intends to extend the ecological plastic for about 60 percent of the interior components in vehicles featuring it.

What is more, ecological plastic is both heat and shock resistant which makes it a great competitor for conventional materials. Since the “green” plastic wonder is just as good as conventional plastics as far as quality and productivity are concerned, there is no reason why it shouldn't be used in production vehicles.

For those who don't know, Toyota Motor Corporation was the first in the whole world to use 100 percent plant-derived plastics for their cars' interiors, launching the Japanese-market “Raum” in May 2003.

But that's not all for “green” news from Toyota. The company has big plans to build cars as ecological as possible since they plan a research to extend the use of the plant-derived plastic in other vehicle parts. Sounds like a “clean” future is awaiting.