Astonishingly it takes more than a million years for styrofoam packing peanuts to decompose.
Can packing peanuts be used as insulation.
Yes packing peanuts are excellent insulators because they are made out of styrofoam.
I m not convinced that it s effective or even safe.
Use packing peanuts to make a quick and easy diy cooler.
Styrofoam is an extremely versatile material that can be used for numerous applications.
The very reason why plastic peanuts work well as packing makes them a bad choice for wall insulation.
Most packing peanuts are made of polystyrene.
The r value of polystyrene is about 4 0 per inch.
From packaging peanuts that protect merchandise while in transit to insulation in homes and more it is useful in numerous situations.
Just put your cold drinks in a tub full of polystyrene peanuts and let them serve as insulation.
But the problem with using packing peanuts for attic insulation is that while the individual peanuts may have an r value of about 4 0 per inch the peanuts have large air spaces between them which allows air currents to easily flow through a layer of packing peanuts.
We found millions of packing peanuts loose in the attic presumably intended to function as insulation.
Has anyone ever seen this before.
Anyone have any thoughts about this.
It also provides good insulation to keep products hot or cold while in transit.
Unfortunately this material is non biodegradable and terrible for the environment.
Osborn a former associate editor replies.
By preventing heat loss packing peanuts make lovely insulators.