STOP USING PACKING PEANUTS!!!

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I took delivery of a tube combo amp that was really, really well-packed. The sender removed all the tubes and rolled them in bubble wrap. He wrapped the speaker and then filled the open combo with peanuts. Then he put it in the box and filled the whole box with peanuts.

When I opened the box, accumulated static caused the peanuts to crawl up my arms to my shoulders. I peeled them off and tried again, but the silly peanuts simply adhered and climbed my arms again. It was actually sort of creepy. Finally I thwarted them by rinsing my hands and arms before handling. I had to go back and moisten my hands and arms until I was finished emptying box and amp.

Bob

That darn static cling. It's even worse if some of the peanuts have broken into small pieces or slivers - almost impossible to get off you. I take a damp cloth to help with that.

[scotchnspeed]

Turned out to be a fun conversation. Even recently by a few different high end shops - peanuts!!! All over my house, cats playing with and relocating them, static cling, bits all over the case...and not to mention probably not the best protection. Then in the garage stored inside the empty box that gets knocked over by another cat...peanut explosion...argh!!!

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by Tannin

Peanuts ain't peanuts. There are two sorts.

One sort is made out of expanded polystyrene foam. It is about as nasty a packing material as you can get. It is made from fossil fuels, it is a greenhouse emitter, you can't compost it, can't recycle it, and there is no way to get rid of the darn stuff. Avoid it like poison. Well, it is poison once it gets into the soil and the waterways. Just say no.

The other sort of peanut is made from vegetable material, usually rice. It is recyclable, compostable, and bio-degradable, and every bit as effective for protecting goods in transit. You can even eat it!

(I don't recommend eating it, it is not prepared with food-grade hygene practices and may or may not contain unwanted additives, but yes, I have tried eating one or two and I'm here to tell the tale.)

NO MORE PACKING PEANUTS!!! The polystyrene ones are environmentally NASTY, and there are MANY excellent alternatives that are much better to and for the environment.

I understand that some folks are so stuck in doing exactly what they want regardless of the impact on others and on the environment. I’m not addressing this post to them.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I took delivery of a tube combo amp that was really, really well-packed. The sender removed all the tubes and rolled them in bubble wrap. He wrapped the speaker and then filled the open combo with peanuts. Then he put it in the box and filled the whole box with peanuts.

When I opened the box, accumulated static caused the peanuts to crawl up my arms to my shoulders. I peeled them off and tried again, but the silly peanuts simply adhered and climbed my arms again. It was actually sort of creepy. Finally I thwarted them by rinsing my hands and arms before handling. I had to go back and moisten my hands and arms until I was finished emptying box and amp.

Bob

Those are not packing peanuts, those were disguised alien bots, they were sampling your DNA to see if you're worth abduction , luckily you must have failed if you're still around to post about it. The new ones that can jump through the air and onto you, are the new T-1000 models

[Music-N-Yarn]

My late husband loathed packing peanuts, shreds, and pellets. I do not miss his complaining about them, or the near weekly messes.

[frankmcr]

Actually, used polystyrene ones are the main ingredient in, mmmm, everybody's favorite candy:

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/...nuts_circ.jpeg

[dwasifar]

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.

[Silurian]

Originally Posted by dwasifar

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.

I don't really want to get drawn into a debate regarding the first two paragraphs but it's the final one that puzzles me.

Normally comparisons about environmental impact are made between products that broadly speaking have the same function.

I have never attempted to string a guitar with packing peanuts. I imagine it's quite difficult and the tone probably isn't great.

[dwasifar]

Originally Posted by Silurian

I don't really want to get drawn into a debate regarding the first two paragraphs but it's the final one that puzzles me.

Normally comparisons about environmental impact are made between products that broadly speaking have the same function.

I have never attempted to string a guitar with packing peanuts. I imagine it's quite difficult and the tone probably isn't great.

Well, they sound really good for playing Linus and Lucy.

The reason I picked strings for a comparison is not that they're equivalent products, but rather that we all run through a lot of guitar strings and rarely discuss their environmental impact. By buying the strings, we tacitly accept their impact as a worthwhile tradeoff for what we want to accomplish, rather than considering their environmental impact independently of their utility. If we're willing to weigh utility vs. impact for strings, the comparison is meant to illustrate that we could apply the same logic to the peanuts; consider their impact in light of their utility, instead of divorced from it.

[FLRon]

I've found one really good use for packing peanuts. I grow many types of plants from cuttings I take from existing shrubs. When it's time to transplant the rooted cutting into a 2 gallon container pot, I fill half the pot with peanuts and the other half with potting soil. The peanuts act as a filler, thus saving money on soil costs, plus they encourage good drainage.
Like others have said, I don't particularly care for them spilling out onto the floor after opening a guitar shipping box.

[ahorsewithnonam]

Originally Posted by Music-N-Yarn

My late husband loathed packing peanuts, shreds, and pellets. I do not miss his complaining about them, or the near weekly messes.

Funny how we associate different obscure things .. you Will see him again.

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by dwasifar

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.

The packing peanuts made of plant cellulose have all these advantages PLUS they are biodegradable when they are not recycled. A much better choice.

The “could be recycled” argument is a road to ruin. Estimates suggest that the weight of the plastic in the oceans will exceed the weight of all the fish in the oceans by 2050. Yes, they are just estimates, but they seem to be based on reasonable assumptions; just the fact that there is even a remote chance this is true is very upsetting. How long have plastics been in wide use? Maybe 60 years?

We need to demand more sensible packing and packaging if we hope to leave our grandchildren and their children a planet that is anywhere near as bountiful and beautiful as the one that has nourished us, physically and spiritually.