A colleague of mine contacted me today about recycling some packaging peanuts she didn't want to waste. Previously this year I was handed a stack of stapled papers so that I could remove the dozens of staples before recycling the white paper (which is all that is officially recycled at the museum). My determination to re-use and recycle is well-known here. The offer was presented with a laugh, and I willingly spent the next 10 minutes de-stapling the pages by hand (I don't have one of those nifty staple-removers that remind me of the back end of hammers).
To get back to the main point of the story, I told my co-worker that I didn't actually have any idea how to recycle packaging peanuts, except to re-use them in later shipments. I offered to do a little research to find out how and where plastic loose fill can be recycled. Very quickly I found The Plastic Loose Fill Council, which has a very convenient online form to find drop-off centers in your area. There is also the Peanut Hotline, which refers thousands of customers each month to nearby drop-off facilities for packing peanuts.
You know a pair of scissors works wonders for staple removal.
ReplyDeleteI did think about that. But then what about all the little triangles of white, recyclable paper that you end up with when you do that?
ReplyDeleteI was not implying cutting off the corner, so much as pushing the blade of the scissors between the staple and the paper. Pulls it right out.
ReplyDeleteObviously, I hadn't thought of that. Clever idea.
ReplyDelete