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.

Image via Wikipedia

A big carbon footprint is an excellent reason to find a new inner packaging material, but not one that arouses passion in most of us. But $5 per gallon gasoline gets everyone’s juices flowing (no pun intended), and that’s another reason – perhaps the most compelling reason – why polystyrene packing peanuts are the wrong void fill material for 2008 and beyond.

Polystyrene packing peanuts are expensive to ship — in fact, considerably more expensive to ship than just about any alternative product on the market.

Peanuts are extremely bulky and lightweight, so freight carriers charge a premium to tote them around. I checked freights cost to ship 5 – 20 cubic foot bags, and the quotes ranged from $110 to $175. Whew! Freight surcharges are a healthy portion of the total, but those aren’t going away any time soon. Want to get a freight estimate for yourself? Use this Roadway freight calculator. Class is 250. Figure 4-5 lbs. per 20 cubic foot bag. You’ll be astounded.

Sustain Your Business with Sustainable Packaging

At $80 per barrel oil, freight costs represented a high percentage of the overall cost of packing peanuts. At $130/barrel oil, those costs are in cost-prohibitive territory.

Packing peanuts are unnecessarily wasteful in terms of diesel fuel consumption, considering the void filled by an entire truckload of them can be filled by a single pallet of inflatable air bag cushioning — like the new product we’ve just rolled out, Globe Guard Inflatable Air Pillows —

(Click here or on the thumbnail for a closer look.)

Globe Guard™ air pillows are a unique sustainable packaging choice. Not only do they reduce transportation cost/fuel consumption, they are made from 100% recycled material and are easy to recycle. Although oil prices are dipping as of this writing, the long term trend is UP …

Is it time to de-peanut your business?

Here’s more on the many drawbacks of packing peanuts.