Puff and Stuff: What To Do With Those Packing Peanuts

They are the earliest of the bane of environmentalists and should be equally upsetting to the common Joe and Jane who know how bad polystyrene is. We're talking about those pesky packing peanuts. They show up in everything from a tube of mail-ordered mascara (you had to have it) and any and other and all manner of gifts. Sure, there are alternatives: wadded up newspapers, shredded paper and more, but somehow those peanuts still thrive, showing up like a mini snowstorm of synthetic puff when you open a cardboard box.

The Daily Green's The Green Cheapskate brings us a few ways we can reuse those peanuts -- and not a moment too soon as we'll be gearing up for that holiday season before the Halloween candy has even been bought and that means loads of packing and peanuts surely will abound.

A few of the most creative ways to recycle and repurpose those things so they don't end up in landfills include:

• Stuff a Costume: Whether it's Santa's belly at Christmastime, a goblin for the front yard for Halloween, or a scarecrow for the summer garden, think packing peanuts whenever you need some lightweight costume stuffing.
• Floating Key Chain: Thread a few packing peanuts on your key chain if you're going boating or to the beach. They'll keep your keys from sinking to the bottom of the deep blue sea.

• Perfect Pet Pillows: Use packing peanuts to stuff a pillow for your pooch or a cushion for your kitty.

Photo courtesy Toria@sxc.hu