What’s Ford doing with tomatoes?

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All those of you who love tomatoes, what do you feel about using a car with parts made of tomato waste ? Strange. Well, American car manufacturer Ford does not find this a least bid weird. In fact, they find it quite an unbelievable source for raw materials to be used in cars.

Here’s the juicy bit: Ford on Tuesday announced that tomato waste — something Pittsburgh ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co. produces in abundance — eventually could be used in a future Fusion or perhaps an F-150. The tomato fibres might end up in plastic used in wiring brackets or in storage bins that drivers use to hold coins.

Ford is working towards creating a fully plant-based composite plastic that could be used in its vehicles, and it has tapped a number of companies, including Heinz, Coca-Cola, Nike and Procter & Gamble, to help them develop it.

“We are exploring whether this food processing byproduct makes sense for an automotive application,” said Ellen Lee, plastics research technical specialist for Ford. “Our goal is to develop a strong, lightweight material that meets our vehicle requirements, while at the same time reducing our overall environmental impact.”

In case you are wondering that your car will be smelling of tomatoes then rest assured the answer is no. The carmaker has a panel of people assigned to monitoring odours, a group that sniffs any components going in its vehicles to make sure drivers won’t be trapped inside with unexpected scents.

Tomatoes are not the only things on their list, even coconuts figure in this research. The company is also working with coconut-based composite materials and recycled cotton material for carpeting and seat fabrics. Their plan is to use these materials in the hidden parts so that it does not offend anyone’s taste or design sense.

“Although we are in the very early stages of research and many questions remain, we are excited about the possibilities this could produce for both Heinz and Ford, and the advancement of sustainable 100 percent plant-based plastics,” said Vidhu Nagpal, associate director, packaging research and development for Heinz, in the official announcement Tuesday.

This environment friendly idea of Ford will need plenty of research for it to materialize, as testing continues. The automaker should be applauded though for taking a step in the green direction. 

Source: Reuters