help: had a parcel what do with packaging

[cazzybabs]

HAd a box delivered and it is full with polystyrenen bits. the box is 1m by 0.5m and it is full of these bits. Have poured about a quarter of them into the wheelie bin which is now full but god they will just sit in a landfill site. What shall I do with them? Shall I send them back to the company from which they came or is that worse i.e with all the petrol. Or spend the next 8 weeks trying to get rid of them. We only have a small bin and it gets empited once a fortnight.

haven't you got a bean bag you could put them in!

No room for a beanbag in our house - with all the bits it would be bloody enormous! Or sewing skills or time. Plus they are are the wrong type actually! Thay are the big white expanded stuff.

Possibly a playgroup or nursery could use some for craft acyivities?

Do you have a scrap scheme near you that would accept them?

Plus contact the company that sent them saying as a customer you prefer biodegradable packaging - you can get packing peanuts made of wheat or maize (like the magic maize stuff in the ELC), or I have even heard of some companies using popcorn

Some of the companies i've had deliveries from use inflated polythene, which when popped deflates (obviously). Not great for the environment, but its less packing than all the polystyrene

I'm not sure how much help this will be but I just got it from envocare about disposing of plastics:

"Despite being common, Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) does not have its own coding for the consumer. We take the liberty of squeezing it in here. If you get EPS packaging or seed trays, try breaking them up and using the lumps in pots for drainage. Or break into even smaller pieces and mix with garden compost to use in pots, window boxes and hanging baskets. The EPS helps drainage, aeration and insulation and you use less compost.
EPS can be commercially recycled back into making: EPS packaging; plastic products like plant pots, coat hangers, CD cases; hardwood replacement (by extruding EPS) for garden furniture, window frames etc; insulation board."

It is good for plant pot drainage because it doesn't add weight to the pot like stones and pot fragments. Could you fill lots of empty wine boxes from the supermarket and dole them out to all the gardeners you know?

I stick them in the shed and then keep them for when I need to send parcels. If you live anywhere near ascot I will take them off you for my beanbag, tho, that is a good idea!

that is actually a good idea pretendfriend, there are always white bits in the composts of houseplants when you buy them