Recently, we took delivery of a new coffeemaker. Sadly, the appliance didn’t work and it had to go back. But that’s not the point of the story.
They packed the appliance box inside another box that was filled with packing peanuts.
I thought, oh no, I’m going to have bits of styrofoam stuck to me and we’ll have to put them in the garbage. For light, airy little things they take up a lot of space.
But that wasn’t the case. A small card in the box explained that these ones were biodegradable. They don’t attract or emit static electricity. They’re made of wheat and cornstarch. You can reuse them, compost them, or do what they suggest and dissolve them in water. This brief video shows how it works.
They even smell a little like bread – taste like it too! (I didn’t swallow it but I had to give one a chew!)
This is what you end up with that washes right down the drain.
It rinsed away like dishsoap bubbles.
As my pal Gina pointed out, the package wasn’t from Amazon. If any company could afford to use biodegradable packing materials, it’s Amazon. But no, this came from a small retailer in Toronto.
No solution is perfect. This requires the use of water. But compared to styrofoam, it’s a winner. Styrofoam takes about 500 years to break down, even longer if it’s in a landfill. I’ll take the wheat peanuts any day.
Come on Jeff Bezos, as the second-richest man in America, you could do this if you wanted to. Some Amazon envelopes are recyclable but others are not. Do better. (Your ex-wife Mackenzie Scott would do it!)
Our replacement coffeemaker arrived within days but I might have been more excited about getting more packing peanuts to rinse away!
Hi Lisa! I think this is a great idea but wonder if they can harden up again in pipes. With even toothpaste building up, I would question this a little bit…..but that’s only because of the numerous plumbing issues in my condo building.It was just a thought. Have a fabulous day!
One more thing regarding Gracefully and Frankly, I was glad that the issue of “steps” came up! As a seventy year old heart surgery survivor, I have been questioning how “they” can say a twenty year old and a seventy…or sixty or even forty needs to walk the same number of steps to be healthy. I reset my watch to a goal of 5000 so I no longer feel like I failed…and by the way…I can “rock” to increase the numbers!! hehehe!
Hey Brenda, it’s a good question! I looked into it and it appears that the problem arises only when people don’t dissolve them. Once they’re dissolved, they won’t (allegedly!) harden but there have been issues when people (fools!) flush them down the toilet whole. The materials are so light, they wash away really fast.
And regarding the steps thing – if anyone missed it, in a nutshell, 10,000 steps is overkill! You don’t need to do that many. 4,000-7,000 a day is a great number. You’re so right – it just didn’t make sense to say “everybody should do 10,000 steps.” Now I have a vivid memory flashing back of Erin and I going up a steep street in Seattle and her looking into her bra, where she kept her step tracker, and saying with glee – “we’ve done 14,000 steps today!” In Seattle, they total up fast! 🙂
I love everything about these packing peanuts!
The fact that they are non-toxic and biodegradable is a bonus, especially if you have pets and/or children in the house.
I wish all companies would use them instead of the alternative.