great way to recycle packing peanuts, bubble-wrap, etc

[phantom power]

For years my wife and I have done our best to save and recycle packing peanuts, bubble wrap, styrofoam, etc. But we get so damned much of it, that we always ended up throwing away most of it.

But no more! I was at my local "mailboxes" store, and the lightbulb went on: I asked the owner if he could use recycled packing materials, and he said they'd love to take any used packing materials. He said they could also use those molded styrofoam inserts that come with electronics and other stuff.

This was a sort of mom+pop version of "mailboxes etc". I don't know if the major franchises would allow this, but I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't.

[Imalittleteapot]

1. Great idea.

My office is full of the stuff.

[Another Bill C.]

2. Yup,

I took a few bags down to my local "Mailboxes" and they seemed happy to get them. It's called a UPS store now but I think they may still take them.

[khashka]

3. What a fantastic idea!

Damn! I wish I had thought of that!

Thanks, e j e

Khash.

[fudge stripe cookays]

4. ...or give them to your favorite gardener

Angelturds make great drainage materials in the bottom of pots, and make them much lighter than pebbles or broken pots.

You can also use less potting soil in big honking huge pots that way.

FSC, gardener at large

[NNadir]

5. Cool idea. Thanx.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Been giving my packing materials to local shipping store for years.

[phantom power]

7. wish I had

wish I had thought of it years ago. It's sad, how much I've thrown away, just because I never thought of anything better to do with it.

[theHandpuppet]

8. Local artist groups...

... and community museums ALWAYS need packing materials and are also strapped for cash. As an artist I can tell you one of my major expenses comes from packing and shipping materials, and I'm not above dumpster diving to recover packing materials others throw away.

Bubble wrap, peanuts, foam core sheet, long boxes that can be used for paintings and drawings, clean glass jars, butcher paper and rags, tape of all kinds... these are just a few of the things your local artists can use. I even salvage the old glass shelves from discarded refrigerators to make wonderful printmaking palettes on which to roll out the inks. (They can also be used to fashion light tables.) Nearly every fixture in my studio has been fashioned from someone else's throwaways.

So support your local artists and feel good about recycling at the same time! An artist will thank you for it!

[Pale Blue Dot]

9. Some of the big ofice supply stores do shipping and packing.

For instance, Staples ships UPS and OfficeMax does one of the other ones. So you might want to check with your local store to see if they will take them.

In fact, my company is big on recycling and I may just pass this on to our corporate office. I think it's a great idea.