In defense of packing peanuts:
Packing peanuts are the quintessential reusable packing product. They don't break down, they don't contaminate the packed item. They are inert, durable, and can be reused over and over and over. Bubble wrap and bagged air can also be reused, of course, but peanuts protect better than bagged air, and bubble wrap gets damaged when it's cut and taped around a product. Packing peanuts do not have those drawbacks.
I know some folks are going to reply that most packing peanuts are thrown away, not reused. But they could easily be reused; it's not the peanuts' fault that people don't. That's true of any potentially reusable item, but especially true of peanuts because they don't need to be specialized.
Compare the environmental impact of reusable peanuts with, say, guitar strings. Even if you recycle your strings, there's still more energy and resources expended in recycling than in reuse. And even if we assume they're both going to be thrown away, there's still a heavier environmental impact from a pack of strings than from a few ounces of peanuts.
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