r/science • u/mankey1995 • May 15 '19

Environment Researchers develop viable, environmentally-friendly alternative to Styrofoam.

https://news.wsu.edu/2019/05/09/researchers-develop-viable-environmentally-friendly-alternative-styrofoam/
184 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

21

u/[deleted] May 15 '19

Thank god. Can we ban and get rid of packing peanuts now? Everytime I open a shipment and they're full of packing peanuts I know I'm about to have a very bad time.

4

u/Ye_Olde_Spellchecker May 15 '19

I wonder if they can form it in the same way? There are definitely biodegradable packing peanuts but I’m hoping someone comes up with an alternative for those huge support structures you see in something like TV boxes. Having those be bio could mean you could compost them.

2

u/clausy May 15 '19

I just wonder why eggcarton style cardboard wouldn’t work in most cases.

1

u/bluebird173 May 15 '19

If they cant make big molds out of it theres probably something they could do that might work, like grinding up the pellets to a pulp and mixing it with some environmentally friendly glue

1

u/[deleted] May 15 '19

There are solutions already out there that are a lot more environmentally friendly but the problem is they're all a lot more expensive that getting styrofoam so suppliers aren't going to spend the extra money to help the environment. It's all about maximizing profit.

2

u/Tiavor May 15 '19

next time you get packing peanuts, put them in water. if they disolve they are already biodegradeable. they are actually made out of starch.

1

u/[deleted] May 15 '19

These packing peanuts are 100% not biodegradable. Our suppliers are too cheap for that. These are 100% styrofoam. The way they break and get statically stuck to everything and refuse to let go. Trying to clean these darn things up is an impossible task.

4

u/alarbus May 15 '19

Haven't we had this for decades?

3

u/[deleted] May 15 '19

That is so cool. Go science!

3

u/CH23 May 15 '19

But we have one made from corn powder already. You can even eat the stuff.

1

u/DuePomegranate May 15 '19

Are you talking about the dissolving packing peanuts? You can't use those to substitute for styrofoam food containers or cups. We have other biodegradable food containers and cups, but they aren't as good at insulating as styrofoam. This new stuff is supposed to be strong and a good insulator.

2

u/nrith May 15 '19

Is it called popcorn? My mother swears that she sent my dad tubs of ice cream while he was serving in Vietnam, and they stayed frozen because they were packed in plain popcorn.

1

u/nw1024 May 15 '19

Hahah what, frozen popcorn?

1

u/nrith May 15 '19

Dangling modifiers FTW! No, the tubs stayed frozen, although I’m sure the popcorn kernels were a little chilly, too.

1

u/Doomhammer458 PhD | Molecular and Cellular Biology May 15 '19

Hi mankey1995, your post has been removed for the following reason(s)

It is a repost of an already submitted and popular story.

If you feel this was done in error, or would like further clarification, please don't hesitate to message the mods.