Have you ever opened a package and been showered with small foam like objects? Most people usually don’t pay any attention to packing peanuts. Packing peanuts have been around since the mid-60s introduced by the Dow Chemical Company. Packing peanuts are made out of a Polystyrene substance and are used for packaging and cushioning an item sent in a package. But what can you do with the packing peanuts after you receive a package?

There are actually many uses for recycling packing peanuts. First let’s discuss the different colors of packing peanuts and what the others distinguish about the peanuts. Did you know there are actually three different colors of packing peanuts, and each color serves a different purpose? There is white, green, and pink. The green color means that it is 70% recycled, the white packing peanuts means that it is a 70% virgin resin composite, and the pink means it has been coated with an antistatic spray. These pink packing peanuts are used for packaging electronic devices such as computers, TVs, and other electrical devices. There are different shapes of packing peanuts as well, each shape means that it is distributed from a different company.

Now what reuses can you find for packing peanuts? Well obviously you can find out were you can send it to be recycled or you can come up with uses of your own. One use of the using the packing peanuts to stuff pillows for your pet to sleep on. You can also use them to stuff or re-stuff a beanbag. Can they be used as a flotation device? Well probably not for a person but you can attach them to other things such as a set of keys or something else that’s small and valuable with just a little tape. If you don’t want to use them in a more creative way you can store them in a big trash bag until you have something to ship. If you’re thinking more green you can have them recycled, many businesses and companies will accept boxes or bags of packing peanuts or you can list the most free on a website or in a newspaper or someone else may find some use for them. If you would like you can notify the shipper of a package that you ordered to send starch-based packing peanuts in the delivery. These starch-based packing peanuts are made of natural substances and are biodegradable, some even dissolve in water. Definitely don’t try to use these as a flotation device!

If you own your own business and do a lot of shipping you can also order packing peanuts in bulk, there are many websites that you can refer to and order large quantities of packing peanuts. Again if you’re thinking environmentally asked the distributor to send you starch-based biodegradable packing peanuts. Feel free to be as creative with packing peanuts as possible as there are many uses for them, such as arts and crafts. We just some construction paper, glue and paint you can keep a child busy for hours. So be creative and go nuts or go packing peanuts!