Real popcorn as packing material? Environmentally friendly alternative

[KurtNYC]

I work for a company based in Indiana and we are looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly. Currently we use those styrofoam "peanuts" when packing boxes for shipping but I am looking into using real popcorn. I found an article in Entrepreneur magazine that recommended real popcorn but I'm not sure anyone actually does this.

Has anyone received anything packed in popcorn?

There is no shortage of popcorn in Indiana (and no wars were fought to obtain it).

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. They make the "peanuts" out of organic matter too.

I don't recall what exactly, but there is eco-friendly "popcorn."

I don't see real popcorn becoming a plausible idea, especially in tropical areas because cockroaches have been known to eat through cardboard. Actually, I think they're eating the gum from the boxes, but you can find cockroach holes in cardboard boxes that have stayed out too long.

[tridim]

7. I tasted one of the organic peanuts once

Not bad! They tasted better than rice cakes.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. LOL! I think it WAS rice cakes.

[Matariki]

27. They're made from biodegradable corn based material

or something like that. My local co-op sells plastic utensils made from the stuff.

Like this:

http://www.biodegradablestore.com/pp/Utensils/corn_plastic/pp_plastic_forks_C_P.html

[jilln]

2. I've only gotten the cornstarch-based peanuts

but seems like real popcorn is a great idea. It would probably be a LITTLE greasy (even if air-popped, because corn naturally has oil in it) so be sure to pack things so it doesn't matter if the wrapping gets a little greasy.

[spinbaby]

3. There is a packing material that "melts"

I've gotten stuff packed in what looks sort of like those styrofoam peanuts, but they're labeled as something made of some kind of starch that melts when it gets wet. If you pop them into water, they just sort of disappear with nothing left but a bit of sludge.

[RegimeChange2008]

14. It's basically Cheetos without the orange stuff

Just puffed up cornstarch. Holds up well as packing material, as long as you keep it dry.

[mcscajun]

4. Great for overnight shipping, I suppose, but not for anything

that might sit in a warehouse or distribution center for very long. I'd imagine such packing material would be great for drawing vermin and insects to packages. It's long been used as a filler for shipping home-baked goodies -- helps keeps contents from shifting and breaking.

[Dora]

5. Look for cornstarch-based packing peanuts.

I wouldn't advise using the popcorn we eat. Step on a piece - it flattens.

Popcorn doesn't have enough resilience to make a good packing material for anything but the lightest of goods. It also crumbles quite easily.

Don't do it.

[AllegroRondo]

8. those starch peanuts are actually edible.

one guy used them last week on Iron Chef - seriously!

[Richard D]

22. They could . . .

. . . . add a little salt and herbs and then recycling wouldn't be a problem!

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. Besides, have you ever smelled month-old popcorn?

I'd go with the cornstarch biodegradable peanuts.

[Dora]

13. I found this online discussion of the matter...

Here's what one person had to say about the matter. Of course, the context is in the shipping/receiving/storing of books, which may not be relevant to what you're shipping....


http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/cdl/1991/0367.html

[KurtNYC]

24. Interesting - weight difference - I hadn't considered that

and many of the concerns raised by others here: vermin, shelf life.

[tridim]

6. Good idea.. But use hot air to pop it, not oil

and warn the UPS guy to watch out for hungry birds on his route.

I like the air bags they use sometimes. If I get packing peanuts I tend to save them for shipping my own stuff. That's the problem, people throw stuff away that they should be recycling.

[crispini]

11. Hum, you could try to contact Gaiam.

I just ordered something from them and they included a slip that described all of their packing materials, and they said that their styrofoam peanuts were made of something that is biodegradable. They didn't actually pack my stuff in peanuts, so I don't know what they were like.

They also include a really neat option on their website when you order stuff that allows you to add a couple of bucks to your order to plant trees to offset the carbon that your shipping takes up. It's pretty neat!

I'd love to get something packed in popcorn. It would go straight into the compost pile! Actually, the birds would probably eat it. Haha.

[likesmountains 52]

12. We used real popcorn in the 70's...it worked fine!

[sarge43]

15. Back in the day Mom used to pack my CARE packages in popcorn.

It worked fine. I wouldn't use it for heavy items as popcorn will break down.

After the fact recycling, compost bin or throw it out for the wild birds - crows and jays adore popcorn.

As mentioned by another poster, air pop, no oil.

[Sequoia]

16. As a child, all packages were stuffed with unsalted popcorn.

We used to send care packages to little kids in Africa or where ever the visiting missionaries needed them.

[potisok]

17. Yes

1971 received a b-day cake sent to south China sea's worked fine and even shared and ate the old popcorn

[Norrin Radd]

18. Buckwheat hulls might make a good packing material.

In Japan, they are used as the filling for pillows, like these here:

http://www.jlifeinternational.com/houseitems/futon/pillow/pillow_e.html

[dysfunctional press]

20. i had a buckwheat pillow, and it totally SUCKED.

every time you move your head, you can hear the buckwheats crunching.

i now have one of those tempurpedic neck pillows- and it's the best pillow i've ever had. i've always been a feather pillow person- i always take my own pillow whenever i travel overnight. except for the tempurpedic, i cannot stand foam pillows.

[Richard D]

23. Buckwheat hulls . . .

. . . are too heavy for packing material. give that pillow a heft and you'll see what I mean. I good packing material has to weigh close to nothing. e.g. mostly air.

[OllieLotte]

19. I'm sure the rats will enjoy having dinner left out for them.

Having been around a warehouse most of my life, I think it would be a bad idea.

[Vinca]

21. I've used cornstarch-based peanuts with good luck.

(A bonus is that when my cat chases and eventually eats them she doesn't die.) The down side is if the box gets wet, the peanuts inside will turn to mush. Popcorn seems like it would work, but mice might be a problem.

[Cha]

25. Then you could throw it

out for the birds after you were done unpacking.

I'm interested in this because last week we unpacked olive oil from Italy that was packed in styrofoam peanuts that clung to our hands and wouldn't let go! Also for the environment issue, of course :)

[eppur_se_muova]

26. Not quite the same, but most chemicals are packed in vermiculite for shipping.

It's much heavier than styro or popcorn, though. This is the same material that's use for 'starter' seedling pots, so it's mulchable if not contaminated by leaks. Vermiculite is made by heat-expanding a naturally occuring mineral precursor to mica, and often contains a good deal of mica. Also used in ashtrays, since fireproof. On the down side: vermiculite mines may contain asbestos, but the worst offenders have been shut down (Halliburton connection here...).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermiculite

[cynatnite]

28. My mom used popcorn when she shipped packages to me.

I was in the army at the time and she shipped packages using popcorn no matter where I was stationed. It was plain with no butter or salt so as to not leak through the box.

[Ganja Ninja]

29. I've heard of using popcorn for packing but I've never gotten

a package that was filled with it.

[Lisa]

30. I've received lots of eBay items packed in puffed starch pellets

The type some earlier posters mentioned. They are great! If one is worried about premature melting if they get wet (or vermin issues), the Lee Valley Tools company uses wadded-up unprinted newspaper as packing material (they say it can be used as garden mulch, but if you have kids in the house they will love crayoning on the big sheets).

Plastic bubble wrap or those bigger "air pillows" (I assume that they can be inflated and sealed shut with the right equipment, in order to make shipping and storage easier for the manufacturer) can be re-used and are less messy than styrofoam, but of course they're just another form of plastic.