Count Up to Earth Day: Tip 2 Recycle Your Packing Peanuts

April 2nd, 2012

This post is part of a series counting up to Earth Day on April 22. Check back for the rest of the 22 tips!

Did you realize that those extremely pesky packing peanuts are actually a plastic? Uh-huh. Peanuts belong to the Styrofoam family. They’re actually a funny, mostly air type of Styrofoam called expanded polystyrene, or EPS.

As with all things, it’s better to reuse. However, I get that you may not want an abundant mass of peanuts, or other foam packaging like bricks. Good news: You can unload your peanuts without feeling guilty. Just mail the foam back for recycling, or look for a drop-off location near you.

The Alliance of Foam Packaging provides you with the low-down on EPS drop-off locations or mailing instructions if a site isn’t near you, plus a 24-hour peanut recycling hotline: 800-828-2214! And, as Diana mentioned in comments, you can also drop your peanuts off at your nearest UPS Store.

(image via flickr)

Filed under Green Choices | Comments (2)

2 Responses to “Count Up to Earth Day: Tip 2 Recycle Your Packing Peanuts”

  1. Diana on April 2, 2012 8:37 pm

    The UPS near me will take all kinds of packing material to be reused, no mailing at all.

  2. Peggy on April 2, 2012 9:58 pm

    Diana, good tip! Looks like all UPS locations take packing peanuts.
    http://compass.ups.com/10green/

    Some of those locations from the Alliance of Foam Packaging would’t require mailing them for recycling, but others might.

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