New York * -- A professor at Cornell University has developed a composite made completely of plant materials which can, at least in concept, be used to make skateboards. The environmentally "green" composite could replace the traditional formaldehyde-based particleboard commonly found in inexpensive furniture and the like. "At the end of its life, you can take it and put it in the compost pile, and it can be used to fertilize more plants." said professor Anil Netravali.

Most skateboard decks are made from at least seven plys of maple * (or originally, hard rock maple *), and we at SkateboardDirectory.com wonder if this new material will be sufficiently durable and flexible to give the board the feel and pop that skateboarders are used to. Nevertheless, a biodegradable composite board material is a welcome addition for various construction and other purposes.

The biodegradable composite is said to be ten times stronger and 25 percent lighter than current particleboards, and made from fibers of plants including bamboo, pineapple, and coconut. The company that created the new substance, e2e Materials, collaborated with Comet Skateboards * to create what they call "the world's first-ever 100 percent green skateboard", which the company calls "unbreakable". They intend to begin shipment of the new boards later this year.

"Formaldehyde is the key ingredient in particleboard today," said Patrick Govang, president of e2e Materials and a previous researcher at Cornell. "It's also a carcinogen. ... Our products are totally safe. Everything that goes into our product, you can eat."

e2e Materials has reportedly won two "major awards" in April, 2007: the first EssentialConnections.org Emerging Business competition, beating out 91 other companies for a $100,000 prize, and the BR Ventures award from Cornell's Johnson Business School, for a $10,000 prize.

This article was based on the author's research and on the article "Cornell Prof Invents 'Green' Skateboard," By Lisa Grossman, found at http://cornellsun.com/node/23226

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