When it comes to packaging gifts this season, you can do the earth and wildlife a favor by avoiding Styrofoam.

     While those little ‘peanuts’ may be good for protecting breakables in the mail, Styrofoam–or polystyrene–poses major problems.  Pieces of it can end up in rivers and oceans, where birds and other animals often mistake the light, floating plastic for food.  Polystyrene is bad for us too.  Its components can alter DNA structure, damage the nervous system, and may even cause cancer. 

     So if you’re thinking of purchasing a bag of polystyrene peanuts to protect the fragile gifts you’re giving, please rethink the idea.  Perfectly adequate alternatives include:  wadded up newspaper;  popcorn (real popcorn, that is, preferably unsalted and unbuttered);  crumpled up plastic or paper bags;  even rags or old towels.

     And what to do with the polystyrene peanuts that accompany gifts you receive this holiday season?  One approach is to carefully gather all the peanuts into a container, and then reuse them the next time you have a package to mail. 

     Polystyrene peanuts can also be recycled.   The Plastic Loose Fill Council operates a “Peanut Hotline.”  If you call 1-800-828-2214, you will hear a recorded message tailored to your calling location.  When I called, I was given the addresses of two drop-off sites within an hour of where we live.  I was pleasantly surprised, since I live in a rural area at least two hours from any major city.–April Moore 

This entry was posted on Friday, December 19th, 2008 at 6:36 am and is filed under Act now to save our beloved Earth!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.