1. Loose fill materials
2. Industrial papers
3. Flexible foams and bubble material
4. Expandable foam
5. Inflatable air pillows

Now let’s look at the qualities you may need from your void fill material, and see how the various options stack up.

Surface protection. For glass, metal, and scratch-sensitive plastics, polypropylene (PP) foams are the least abrasive option, followed by polyethylene (PE) foams and bubble. Industrial papers, depending on the grade, may also work.

Dust free. Loose fill, whether polystyrene or one of the various biodegradable varieties, are prone to flaking. Industrial papers sometimes contain dust as a result of the trimming process. For shipping things such as pharmaceutical or personal health care products, look in other directions for void fill.

Cushioning. Expandable foams, which hold a product tightly in place, provide the best cushioning function, though they may be overkill. Foams and bubble are the next best choice, followed by air pillows, industrial papers, and loose fill. When considering your cushioning needs, take into account the entire package, not just the void fill. For instance, if you are using loose fill, a switch to air pillows may allow you to use a smaller corrugated box. If that’s the case, you will reduce the total amount of packaging used, and your total packaging cost as well.

Lightweight. The heavier the void fill, the more expensive the shipping costs and the more energy required for transport. For a given volume, industrial papers and paper-based loose fill materials are the heaviest among the five void fill types. Expandable foam weight varies depending on density, but in almost all cases it will exceed the weight of flexible foams and bubble. For many years, polystyrene loose fill was the lightest weight option, but today, air pillows are lighter still.

Cost. Expandable foams and flexible foams tend to be the most expensive per cubic foot. Bubble materials range from very expensive to moderate, depending mainly on overall bubble thickness and what type of coating, if any, is applied to the material to keep air sealed in. Industrial papers are one step up in cost from air pillows and polystyrene loose fill. The best ways to compare cost of void fill materials are cost per cubic foot and cost per application. As I mentioned earlier, different void fill can involve changes to other components of the package, making cost per application the ultimate test.

(Photo – Bubble Wrap, by Hey Paul on Flickr)

Void fill can be broken down into several categories.

Loose fill materials, commonly called “packing peanuts”, are made from a variety of eco friendly and not so eco friendly materials, including polystyrene, corn starch, and paper. The weight of loose fill varies depending on the material, but generally speaking, loose fill is inexpensive per application, but messy and not very effective for cushioning.

Industrial papers include kraft paper, newsprint, and tissue paper. Most papers used for void fill have high PCW content, are fairly inexpensive per application, and are easier and cleaner to use than loose fill. Industrial papers are available in sheeted or roll form, making them easy to integrate into most packing operations. Multi-layered papers have become more popular in recent years, mainly due to shippers looking for alternatives to plastic-based packing materials. Multi-layer papers, which are typically made on-site, provide excellent cushioning, but are significantly heavier than plastic alternatives.

Flexible foams and bubble material, though much more expensive per application than other options, have outstanding cushioning and surface protection characteristics, making them a good choice when those attributes are needed. Foam and bubble are available with and without non-recycled content. Performance may be compromised with materials having a high recycled content, so it’s a good idea to carefully test before making a decision. These materials are not recommended for general purpose void fill.

Expandable foam, sometimes called foam-in-place, mix two liquid chemicals inside a polyethylene bag on site to produce a sack of foam that expands and hardens, either in a mold or around the product being packaged. Disposal and recyclability of these materials vary according to the manufacturer. Expandable foam, like flexible foam and bubble, are designed for specialized use. Expandable foams come in a variety of densities and are used when cushioning and/or blocking and bracing are imperative. They are expensive per application, and are used widely in the electronics and furniture industries, among others.

Inflatable air pillows are rolls of polyethylene bags delivered to the user on a roll, and then inflated with a simple machine, either as they are being used or in batches. Air pillows are inexpensive per application and provide much more cushioning than loose fill. Our new Globe Guard Inflatable Air Pillows are made from 100% recycled material, which we believe is unique.

In an upcoming post, I’ll talk about a little more about how to match up your specific needs with the right material.

Polystyrene is recyclable, but not easily so. The material is extremely lightweight and therefore expensive to ship to recycling centers, which are often a long distance away. While associated transportation costs have always been high, the economics are now even worse due to the rapid run up in fuel costs.

Assuming material can be delivered economically to a recycling facility, few of them are set up to process polystyrene waste efficiently. The technology exists for efficient polystyrene recycling, but two problems stand in the way. First, the cost to build a polystyrene recycling facility is extremely high. Second, there is not much of a market for recycled polystyrene, so there is no economic incentive to justify the capital investment.

Without getting too deep into the debate over polystyrene and its overall environmentally impact, we maintain that using it for void fill packaging is an unnecessary risk.

• Other materials, such as inflatable polyethylene air pillows, can match polystyrene loose fill for speed and are much easier to recycle. Air pillows offer superior cushioning as well.
• Other materials, such as paper dunnage, are heavier, but offer offsetting benefits including better cushioning and easy recycling and reuse.
• Loose fill materials made from paper or cornstarch are widely available.

In addition to its environmental drawbacks, loose fill has many functional disadvantages which we can discuss at another time. Suffice to say, shippers who want to give their products maximum protection and their customers maximum satisfaction have many, many better void fill solutions to choose from. Why be ecoblivious?

More Information
From Treehugger, What Can We Do With Our Used Styrofoam?

A List of Polystyrene Recycling Facilities

Why Styrofoam is Bad!

(Photo by iampeas on Flickr)

Related articles by Zemanta

• Gasoline – Another Reason to Stop Using Polystyrene Loose Fill
• New Product – Globe Guard™ 100% recycled content air pillows