Pioneer Corporation creates 25-gigabyte storage disc made from corn. Salsa sold separately

Eco-Friendly Disc Stores Data on Corn

Nov. 4, 2004 — Giving a new meaning to the term grassroots music, Pioneer Corp. said Thursday it had developed a next-generation disc made of corn to let the eco-conscious consumer dispose of data in the soil.

The Japanese electronics maker said the Blu-ray optical disc, which can be written once and stores 25 gigabytes of data, is 87 percent natural polymer derived from corn and biodegrades.

"If the starch polymer is incinerated, it will not emit dioxins and any other harmful chemicals," the company said.

While the disc can theoretically be eaten, it is coated by a 0.1-millimeter (0.004-inch) thick layer of resin and is too hard for even the strongest teeth.

Pioneer has yet to decide when to market the disc.

Earlier this year, Sony Corp. and another Japanese company, Toppan Printing, said they had developed a paper disc that can be destroyed with scissors for fool-proof data security.

Japanese electronics giant Pioneer researcher Tasuo Hosoda displays a prototype model of a blue-ray disc made of corn starch polymer.

Discovery