Microsoft, Sabic partner on new mouse with 20 per cent recycled ocean plastic shell

Photo Credit: Sabic

Microsoft has partnered with chemical supplier Sabic to create Microsoft’s first consumer electronic product with an exterior shell containing 20 per cent recycled ocean plastic.

The Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse is made in part with ocean plastic, which is defined as plastic that has been certified by a third party as recovered from any ocean or ocean-feeding waterways or where it washed ashore from these locations. Ocean plastic differs from ocean-bound plastic in that ocean-bound plastic is recovered from ocean-feeding waterways, shorelines, and inland areas within a 50-kilometer radius of the ocean. The two recycled products play complementary roles in helping address the issue of ocean plastic waste.

In a news release, Sabic officials said that Microsoft began the project with an objective of creating a plastic resin made from at least 10 per cent recycled ocean plastic – and that, after hearing the initial vision for the project, Sabic joined the effort to source the recycled material and to formulate a resin that satisfied Microsoft’s quality standards. The Microsoft design team then collaborated with technologists at Sabic to provide feedback on prototypes made with a new “Xenoy” polycarbonate/PET resin – part of Sabic’s “TruCircle” portfolio – and the final product contains 20 per cent recycled ocean plastic by weight in its external casing or “shell.” These recycled pellets are blended in during the materials development process that makes the shell of the Ocean Plastic Mouse.

According to Sabic, for every 1kT of product containing recycled ocean-plastic Xenoy PC/PET compound, an equivalent of 24 million single-use 0.5litre PET water bottles is removed from the ocean, ocean-feeding waterways, or ocean-adjacent shores.

“We’re proud of the collaboration with Sabic that created this new resin from a challenging material that would otherwise remain in the ocean as waste,” said Donna Warton, vice president of supply chain and sustainability at Microsoft.

The Ocean Plastic Mouse is available for pre-order in Canada and the U.S. starting on Sept. 22 and will be available to purchase in most worldwide markets on Oct. 10.