How Green is your Package?

It no longer matters how big your package is. It's how green it is that counts.

Packaging is here to stay, so let's make it eco-friendly!

While walking around San Francisco, it is amazing how many rogue Styrofoam packing peanuts you see. On a recent walk after the holidays, I gathered over 40 of these insidious S's. One can see how easy these lightweight Styrofoam pieces fly through the air and how they invariably end up going down a storm drain and out to pollute the sea, poison the birds and fish, and other fun things like that.

If these Styrofoam (aka Expanded Polystyrene, EPS) packing peanuts were biodegradable, it wouldn't matter as much if one or 100 of them got loose. They would be in the same camp as banana peels.

Let's send Styrofoam packing and replace it with planet-friendly materials. In that spirit, here is Heart of Green's Guide to Green Packaging:

Newspaper: This is the easiest solution. Use your old newspapers instead of bubble wrap or Styrofoam. And some of your recipients will even read the newspaper when your package arrives.

Biodegradable Packing Peanuts: GiveStyrofoam the boot and replace with these marvelous biodegradable packing peanuts. Made from cornstarch, these beauties dissolve in water and are compostable. 

Staples Biodegradable Packing Peanuts

Amazon Biodegradable Packing Peanuts

Uline Biodegradable Cornstarch Peanuts

U-Haul Biodegradable Packing Peanuts

What is up with Office Depot by the way?  Office Depot touts biodegradable packing peanuts in their green press release, but they are no where to be found on their web site. Hmm... They offer recycled polystyrene peanuts, but these are still Styrofoam. Perhaps they are out of stock due to popularity. That would be a good sign. Or perhaps they are only in the cool Office Depot Green Book?

Recycled Content Boxes & Envelopes: What could be better than a box with a high percentage of post-consumer recycled content? And check out all of these Office Depot Recycled Envelopes. Remember that a high post-consumer % is where it's at (because paper was actually diverted from a landfill), and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) seal is far better than the industry-created SFI smokescreen.

Green Cell Foam: I was excited to find Green Cell recently as an eco-replacement for Styrofoam molds in businesses. Green Cell Foam from KTM Industries is made from high-grade non-GMO cornstarch, is naturally anti-static and dry, and is biodegradable and compostable. Green Cell Foam

ExpandOS: Check out these clever packing wonders which are made from 30% recycled paper and are 100% recyclable, pictured to the right. ExpandOS

Cellulose Wadding Custom Wrap: 100% recycled, recyclable, and reusable paper that can help with filling or wrapping. Cellulose Wrap

Styrofoam Recycling

I wondered for a long time where to recycle all of that pesky Styrofoam. It turns out that there is a 1-800 phone number you can call to find a Styrofoam drop off center in your area. A green miracle!

Call the Styrofoam Peanut Hotline at 1-800-828-2214 and ask for the nearest spot. Or visit the Styrofoam Drop Off Centers search page and chose your lucky target for your saved and now soon-to-be-recycled-and-reused Styrofoam. You can't buy cashews there, but it is still pretty darn cool.

Thanks to the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers, there is also a list of Styrofoam Packaging Drop Off Locations.

The future for green packaging is bright. Wal-Mart is increasingly putting pressure on their suppliers to minimize packaging.  IBM, Nokia and Sony have joined the Eco-Patent Commons which initially contains 31 patents including a shock-absorbing biodegradable recyclable packaging insert made of corrugated cardboard, i.e. an alternative to Styrofoam. Hooray!

Let's encourage our favorite products to make their packaging as green as our packages. Net net, let's turn those Styrofoam S's into Biodegradable B's or Cornstarch C's. Let's turn our Styro into Enviro. It's a race to see who can make the best "Envirofoam" first.

Comments

[Sherica]

On the subject of packing peanuts, there are literally islands of these (and other Styrofoam products) in our oceans. Styrofoam takes up to 30% of our landfill space and it's not necessary with the comparable alternatives out there today. We've just got to keep the price competitive, so the average consumer can still afford it. Check out http://puffystufftn.com for a great 100% biodegradable packing peanut. Purchase power is key! As stated "The future for green packaging is bright". Indeed it is! Thanks so much for the article.