Those flash drives have become so disposable, haven't they? I have a drawer full of them thanks to companies that hand them out like fliers at events, and sadly, I don't really have a need for all of them. Hopefully, newer flash drives will become more biodegradable like Hoshino's FD-300 flash drive, which Engadget says is made from corn—not just shaped like one.

But is this corn-based flash drive really more eco-friendly than others?

I'm not an eco-nerd by any means, but the company claims the plastic used on the flash drive is made with polylactide (PLA) which can be "degraded to carbon dioxide and water by microorganisms in the soil after use and do no harm to the environment." Sounds great, but I think Hoshino's description sounds a little misleading here.

The truth is PLA, while technically biodegradable, will only decompose in a very controlled composting environment that has to reach 140 degrees for ten consecutive days. As I was reading up on PLA on the Smithsonian Magazine, I found out only 113 facilities exist nationwide that would be able to break down PLA products, and well, all these facilities aren't exactly available to the general public.

The hope here is that more composting facilities will exist in the future to break down all that PLA, but until then, I'm afraid this "biodegradable" corn-shaped flash drive will sit in a landfill for a few years before it completely disappears. So much for biodegradable, heh?