We all love Rocky, Sandy and Scrat
but, at least away from the silver screen, squirrels actually tend
to be quite a nuisance. They dig holes in our lawns to bury acorns,
steal from our bird-feeders and vegetable gardens, invade our
attics in the winter and…eat the plastic components of our
cars? Apparently, yes; as car manufacturers increasingly turn to
the use of plastics derived from natural sources, squirrels appear
to be increasingly intent on entering the car-eating business. As
if it wasn’t bad enough that Toronto was recently named the
“Raccoon Capital of the World”.
As reported by the CBC, several automakers, including Honda,
Kia, Mazda, Ford and Toyota, now use resins derived from soy, rice
husks, corn, castor oil and agave to make the plastics they use in
their vehicles’ seat cushions, mouldings, and wirings.
