Packing Peanuts Should Be Illegal

[eyesnine]

I just filled a trash bag with packing peanuts. I hate getting keyboards in packing peanuts. They are unwieldy, leave little pieces of styrofoam everywhere, and are very environmentally unfriendly.

Please use some combination of crumpled up butcher's paper (my favorite), bubble wrap, or those plastic air pillows (nice, but the equipment is expensive).

Also, I have had some keyboards shipped to me in shredded computer paper, which also annoys me. I have no rationalization for that complaint, though.

[fossala]

Packing penuts are good because they don't get popped by heavy items (pc/servers). For keyboards bubble wrap and a tight box is normally enough.

[alaricljs]

I like the foamed corn starch packing peanuts.  My cats eat them occasionally and they're quite easily recycled.  I have no issue w/ styro packing peanuts because I just ship them to ebay buyers.

[alaricljs]

And if you are a pure consumer and don't send stuff out there are plenty of local businesses that would be more than happy to take them off your hands.

[eyesnine]

I barely have enough storage space in my apartment for some flattened cardboard boxes, full trash bags are completely out of the question.

Also, I feel that for shipping heavy stuff foam in a bag is much better. Especially if you don't want styrofoam particles invading the insides of a server.

[itlnstln]

These packing materials are endlessly reusable, assuming they haven't been shredded to bits. Really does no harm to put them in the trash bag, then put the trash bag in your garage/storage closet/crawlspace/attic/"generic storage location within your home" if there is any chance you'll ever ship anything ever again.

Putting bags of packing peanuts in the attic might help with insulation.  I think I got that tip from ripster.  It probably doesn't help much, but what the hell, it couldn't hurt, right?

[audioave10]

I prefer bubble wrap...good therapy too. pop...pop...pop...pop...

[Voixdelion]

I barely have enough storage space in my apartment for some flattened cardboard boxes, full trash bags are completely out of the question.

Also, I feel that for shipping heavy stuff foam in a bag is much better. Especially if you don't want styrofoam particles invading the insides of a server.

+1 to this!  I also have a personal pet peeve with the loose peanuts.  They actually don't do well for cushioning a lot of things because people don't tend to pack them tightly enough that the item doesn't end up sifting through them anyway and ending up on the bottom of the box, and cleanup is a pita.  Enclosing them into smaller bags would solve that problem and also be more secure packaging.