Biodegradable Packing Peanuts

When talking about packing supplies, we can not forget about packing peanuts. I personally do not think these do the best job at keeping the items safe, but that is my opinion. Most of the time, packing peanuts are placed on the bottom of a box roughly an inch in height. After that, the item gets put into the box, where it is then enclosed by more packing peanuts. I don’t think that this is the best packing method because all it really does is prevent an item from shifting around in the box. It does not protect it all that much, but for some reason, they have been used for many years now, and I don’t believe companies are looking to change that. 

It is my opinion that packing peanuts are not the best form of packing material. I say this because the peanuts are small foam bits that help reduce the movement of an item in a box. These peanuts are made from polystyrene fragments. The peanuts do have a unique way of trying to protect the thing that is in the box with them. When compacted down, packing peanuts interlock with one another. When they are not compacted down, they flow unrestricted and can shift around. This is one of the reasons why I say I don’t think they are the best for packing materials. There a chance that whoever packs that item with peanuts may not fill enough, thus allowing for the item to move around freely. 

Some packing peanuts are made from biodegradable materials, which I like. If you have ever received a package with packing peanuts, you will know the mess that they can make. All the small foam bits are all over, and it’s a process to clean up. This is why I say that the biodegradable packing peanuts are a good thing. It can make cleaning up the mess they produce easier because you know they will disintegrate in a while. It also gives you the peace of mind knowing that when you throw them away, then it will not have an impact on the environment. 

The biodegradable packing peanuts came about in the nineties. An environmentally friendly company wanted an alternative way to pack their items safely and have the knowledge that the packing materials they are using are not going to damage the environment. They were a scratch based packing peanut that eventually became a commonplace in the shipping industry. Biodegradable peanuts produce no static build up which is a great thing when it comes to shipping electronics. If there is any static charge build up when the consumer goes to grab that product, there is a chance that the shock will short circuit the electrical components, thus ridding that useless. 

I personally do not think that packing peanuts are the best kind of packing supplies because it does not provide the most protection. The amount of protection an item will have with packing peanuts is entirely dependent on the person who fills the box, and if they are in a lazy mood that day, then they could underfill the boxes that need a lot of this material. This would then result in a broken item. I believe that bubblewrap is one of the best kinds of packing materials, especially when compared to packing peanuts.

My uncle’s company packing process

Growing up, I remember walking around my uncle’s big warehouse building that was converted to a laser tag building shop. They had many different methods and packing supplies when it came to shipping these built props. When a laser tag area is being built, it is done in small sections that can easily fit together in a semi-truck and then be put together at the site to make the big arenas. To safely get these pieces to the site, the workers need to ensure they follow a procedure in order to pack up these large items properly. The way something gets wrapped is entirely dependent on the shape of it and what it is for. 

The walls can be packed together. In order to do this, they are stood up on a wooden pallet. Once that is done, they are taped together, so they are more or less one piece. After this, edge guards are added to the four corners. These are fixed to the walls with more packing tape to ensure a snug fit. After that has been done, bubble wrap is applied around the walls. Not much is needed due to the fact they are wooden for one and because the edge guards are in place, keeping the exposed corners protected. The bubble wrap is primarily used to keep the faces and backs of the walls from getting any sort of chips or damages to them in transit. After the bubble wrap is applied, they use stretch wrap. This is the final step in the packing process. The plastic wrap is used to keep everything together and make it a solid piece. That’s about two to five walls done out of the hundreds.

 

The large foam sculptures have a different packing process but use similar materials. These foam sculptures need to be protected very carefully because they are foam with a hard outer layer. You may think the outer layer is firm enough, but one good hit and a massive project need to be restarted. Depending on the prop will determine the exact way it needs to be wrapped. Most of the giant sculptures will come apart in smaller pieces allowing for more accessible transportation. 

The way these are packed can vary, as I said, but it’s more or less consistent. Most of the time, a piece is put onto a wooden pallet. Once that has been done, if it has hard square edges, then edge guards will be added. If it is less of an organic shape, then lots and lots of bubble wrap is used. Once the bubble wrap is applied, stretch wrap is put around it so the bubble wrap will stay secure and provide a snug fit to the object being shipped. None of these products can be stacked on one another unless it is a box prop that has been thoroughly wrapped. 

As you can see mu uncle’s company uses many different kinds of packaging supplies. I believe they are looking for a better and more efficient way to wrap their products, but this way has been working since two thousand and five. I feel like a lot of companies who also deal in large items like my uncles do something similar when they are packing their things up. 

Best Bubble Wrap Roll

When talking about packing supplies, there are limitless areas to be explored and discussed. Today we are going to look at three companies that specialize in making bubble wrap rolls and see the pros and cons of each. Bubble wrap as a packing material is one of if not the best kind of material there is. This product provides the best protection for any items wrapped up in it. Most of the time, bubble wrap will come in a roll. This is very beneficial because it will take up less space, and because it is in a roll, there is less of a chance it will be stepped on and pop the bubbles, thus losing its protective properties. 

The first company we are going to look at is a company called EcoBox. This company, like all the others we will discuss, offers a kind of rolled bubble wrap. This company has a unique manufacturing process that allows for them to make their bubble wrap biodegradable. This is an excellent feature for the betterment of the environment. the process for making this kind of bubble wrap does not cut corners. The materials put into it make a high quality bubble wrap. This material is also one of the thicker ones we will talk about today. This bubble wrap can come in a variety of lengths and widths varying on your needs. The downside of this material is that it puts off an odd odor and does not work well with heavy items. 

The second kind of bubble wrap roll we are going to look at is from a company called Sealed Air. This product is one of the more expensive ones we are looking at today, but the high price is justified by the high durability and quality of this material. This bubble wrap is clear in design and allows for you to be able to see through it and look at the product you are wrapping up. Another key feature is that when you buy this one, it will come with a dispensing box for ease of use. 

The final company we are going to take a look at is called Duck. This company provides a very affordable bubble wrap roll made of high quality materials. This bubble wrap is possibly one of the best ones on the list. The rolls can be ordered in a variety of sizes from five feet all the way up to one hundred and seventy five feet. This is one of the few bubble wrap rolls that can be reused so long as the bubble is undamaged. A downside of this roll is that the bubbles can pop relatively easily if put under enough pressure, which may be a turn-off for some people, but the low price of this roll tends to make up for that. 

In my opinion, I believe that the best roll is from Duck has the best products for shipping supplies. I say this because they have high quality bubble wrapping for a low price compared to the others. I do like what EcoBox is trying to do with making a bio-degradable kind of bubble wrap. I think to me. They come in a close second. With how handy the dispensing box that comes with the Sealed Air products, I can not justify paying more for a box to dispense the needed bubble wrap.