4 ms·
the last package peanuts I seem to remember finding in a package were disposable by putting them in compost, which seems like an advantage over plastic bags.
by justinator 10y ago
the last package peanuts I seem to remember finding in a package were disposable by putting them in compost, which seems like an advantage over plastic bags.
- waterphone 10y agoI haven't seen anyone else using it yet, but iFixit uses a paper/cardboard lattice/expanded mesh as packing material.
- spilk 10y agoIf we're talking about the same thing, I see electronic component vendors like Digikey/Mouser/etc. using that paper mesh a lot.
- hanniabu 10y agoThese are awesomexpected and work great, but unfortunately I bet they're pricier which is a huge influencer in packaging decisions.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- mmanfrin 10y agoRecent ones you can, but those came about during the ascent of packaged air. Old ones were just plastic. New ones you can even eat. They're made of corn.
- ianai 10y agoIt seems silly to use something with finite supply for something so simple to substitute.
- Dylan16807 10y agoIt's not that simple. We can turn corn into petrochemicals if the relative prices change enough.
- cossatot 10y agoWe routinely turn petrochemicals into corn, so it's nice to occasionally return the favor. (https://store.extension.iastate.edu/Product/Energy-consumption-for-row-crop-production-Farm-Energy-PDF https://store.extension.iastate.edu/Product/Energy-consumpti...)
- r00fus 10y agoThey're a nightmare if you have babies/pets and don't clear out your packing materials quickly - I keep my boxes and materials until I validate the item's functional. Disposable peanuts are made from corn/rice so humans/pets can eat them, but it's unknown if they're easily digestible in large quantities and anecdotes about pets hurling them up are out there. I prefer the air-packs, yes it's plastic (my recycler accepts them if they're collapsed and not loose), but a small amount given the size of the packages.
- joezydeco 10y agoI ate one of the peanuts on a dare a long time ago, wouldn't do it again. Whatever is on there as a preservative or pet/child deterrent (or possibly both) made me nauseous for hours afterward.
- CodeWriter23 10y agoWhat did you get in return for taking the dare?
- kurthr 10y agoEven if you don't have babies/pets, but keep those recyclable peanuts around... you soon will in the form of roaches, moths, and mice. They grow up so quick!
- Spooky23 10y agoExcept you need to have a compost pile and become adept at identifying variants of packing peanuts. We actually do compost, but our pile is inactive in the winter, and dumping some mysterious product into it isn't something that I'd want to do.
- justinator 10y agoThe city I live in has a composting program [0], so even if I don't want to compost myself, it's compulsory. The trash bin we get is about a quarter the size of both the recycle and compost bin. I've never had problems identifying which packing materials are compostable. Usually putting one under warm water will give it away - they're designed to be washed down the drain. https://bouldercolorado.gov/lead/compost https://bouldercolorado.gov/lead/compost
- walrus01 10y agothose are great until you send a large volume of shipments by ocean cargo somewhere, and it arrives with a nest of several hundred rats that have eaten the packing material.