Light Green Stairs

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)