Video:No Mess Packing Peanuts

Transcript:No Mess Packing Peanuts

Hey guys - Jonathon Stewart here for About.com. What's 99.6 percent air, takes less than half the amount of energy to make than paper packaging, is non-toxic, and reusable? Yes, it's the ever-lovable expanded polystyrene loose fill, or packing peanuts to you and me. While these things might not be as bad for the environment as you think, they are pretty bad for your house when you're opening a package stuffed with them. Here are a few tips for dealing with them, hassle free. Check it out.

Handle Packing Peanuts the Static-Free Way

The biggest pain about packing peanuts is their tendency to attract static cling, so simply dumping them from one container into another is not always as easy as it should be. Start by establishing an empty container as the new home for your packing peanuts - a box with a wide opening that's not liable to collapse, and with a solid floor is a good choice - and place it next to the box you're about to empty. Next very lightly coat the palms of your hands with vegetable oil, which should all but eliminate the static charge of any peanuts you come into contact with. Scoop the peanuts from your packing box to the empty container, and liberate whatever the peanuts have been protecting, and pull any clingy fellas off and into your container. Finally, pour the remaining peanuts into your destination box, and store away the shipping box for future use.

Recycling Packing Peanuts

The absolute number one thing to remember with packing peanuts, is to recycle them, no matter what. As long as the world ships breakable things from one place to another, there's going to be a need for peanuts or something like them, and the best way to protect the environment at this point, is to keep these peanuts in circulation. Either save your box of peanuts for your own shipping needs, or simply call the Plastic Loose Fill Hotline at 800-828-2214 for a drop off center near you. Also, know that most UPS stores will take peanuts off your hands at no charge. If you happen to have the biodegradable kind, be sure to reuse these too - while they won't take up room in a landfill, they do take a larger amount of energy to make, and will continue to get made if you dissolve them yourself.

And that's the skinny on packing peanuts... You know, you could also just stop buying fragile things from far away places, but really, where's the fun in that?

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