Disposing of packing peanuts?

[Mokele]

Well, Xmas is over, and predictably, we have a huge surplus of styrofoam packing peanuts. I'm pretty sure the local recycling pickup only covers paper, glass, and metal, but I don't want to waste huge amounts of trash space on these things.

 

I recall seeing an episode of Mr. Wizard as a kid where he dissolved them in acetone, leaving only a small residue.

 

So, am I remembering this right? And what will the residue be? Is it just depolymerizing it, or is there a chemical reaction beyond that? Would the residue be safe to throw out?

 

Mokele

[Baby Astronaut]

Seems the acetone will evaporate on its own and the styrofoam residue left behind is just the styrofoam without air in it. Unfortunately I couldn't find safe disposal for either.

 

But this YouTube vid with loads of styrofoam poured into a bowl of acetone is probably close enough to the Mr. Wizard episode you watched.

[UC]

Use a small amount of acetone in a cup. Adding the peanuts releases their blowing agent and reduces them to styrene (I assume) scented goo. There is no reaction, just a weak solubility that allows the filler gas to escape. Polystyrene is used to make all sorts of things and most end up in the trash, so at least it'll be low-volume trash.

[ecoli]

next time use cornstarch packing nuts!

[YT2095]

and rather than waste good grade acetone use nail varnish remover instead, it`ll do the same thing and it`s loads cheaper, petrol works too.

[CaptainPanic]

So, am I remembering this right? And what will the residue be? Is it just depolymerizing it, or is there a chemical reaction beyond that? Would the residue be safe to throw out?

 

Mokele

 

The polystyrene will dissolve, not depolymerize. No reaction.

 

What did you plan on doing with a solution of a polymer in acetone? Isn't that even more harmful, and creating more waste (which I measure in kilograms, not cubic meters)? I think you'll need the same amount of acetone as you'll have polystyrene... so you might double the waste. And in stead of having a nice solid waste, you'll end up with a liquid... (which you should throw down the sink). I believe that law (over here) states that styrofoam is normal waste, while acetone is considered chemical waste.

 

Finally, if you really plan on using lots of acetone to save one or two garbage bags, then I want to point out the risk of explosion when working with a highly volatile solvent. Make sure to play with it in a well ventilated area (preferably outside!).

 

My question is: how much foam waste can one have after Christmas? Surely not more than 1 m3? Who cares about that? It's negligible compared to all the trash you produce the rest of the year! (Or do you pay for trash per volume?)

[YT2095]

 

What did you plan on doing with a solution of a polymer in acetone?

 

a neat thing to do is open up a felt pen of your favorite color (the end pulls off) and dip it in the acetone to color it, then dissolve all the packing, let the acetone evaporate a little and mold the PS into a shape and let it dry.

you can dril a hole through it and use it as a key ring fob, or even make christmas tree decorations with them.

I used to do it quite a bit as a kid and with PVA glue.

and since you go out on excursion/trips you can make a dilute soln of this and dip matches into it (head 1`st) and let it dry, you`ll find they become Quite waterproof

[CaptainPanic]

a neat thing to do is open up a felt pen of your favorite color (the end pulls off) and dip it in the acetone to color it, then dissolve all the packing, let the acetone evaporate a little and mold the PS into a shape and let it dry.

you can dril a hole through it and use it as a key ring fob, or even make christmas tree decorations with them.

I used to do it quite a bit as a kid and with PVA glue.

and since you go out on excursion/trips you can make a dilute soln of this and dip matches into it (head 1`st) and let it dry, you`ll find they become Quite waterproof

 

A world of possibilities previously unknown to me! Where have I been hiding?

 

Polystyrene foam is about 25-200 kg/m3. I'm assuming (quite randomly) that Mokele has at least 1 m3 of the stuff (why else is it a problem?). That means there is 25 kg polystyrene for making matches, key chain fobs, decorations or glue.

 

According to my quick calculations, you can coat 50 million matches with that (0.1 mm thick coating).

Or, you can make >1000 Christmas tree decorations with it (for next year), at 25 g per decoration.

Or, you can make >10000 key ring fobs with it, at 2.5 g per fob.

Or, you can cover 25 square meter in a nice 1 mm thick layer of the stuff and make everything sticky

 

I fear that the scale of the problem (25 kg PS foam) is larger than the scale of the solution here.

 

Sorry for being so much on the numbers - I specifically joined this forum so I can be who I am: an annoying engineer who is always realistic unless everybody else is realistic (in that case I'll put on my funny hat).

[YT2095]

well, if he does in fact have 25Kg of them, then Selling them on would be the logical thing to do, they also make Great wall insulation

[Mokele]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I don't have anywhere near 25 kg of packing peanuts, but still quite a few. Dealing with acetone or nailpolish remover shouldn't be a problem - I've got far nastier stuff around, and I can just let it evaporate off, leaving nothing but polystyrene behind. Next, I need to find out if I can put it in with the recycling.

 

Mokele

[YT2095]

Plastics recycling bag/bin is fine for polystyrene

[jdurg]

After the holidays, I actually had quite a few cubic feet of packing peanuts to dispose of. After reading this thread, I went and took a few tablespoons (if my memory and volume judgement serves me right) and had fun dissolving it. Haven't done that in a long time. Was quite fun, yet quite stinky.

[CaptainPanic]

Mokele, are you trying to have fun, or learn something... or are you trying to be good to the environment?

If you're trying to be environmentally friendly by reducing the volume of your waste, then I suggest you stop this acetone-plan you have. Evaporating acetone into the air isn't exactly the clean thing to do... and in the end, you end up with as much polystyrene as you started with, just in a different volume.

 

If you just want to have fun... well, fun with chemistry is always a good thing, isn't it? You opening post suggested that you had a problem with the waste.

[Mokele]

Well, evaporating the acetone would be fine - it's a naturally occuring chemical, a byproduct of chemical reactions that occur in most organisms. It's quickly broken down by UV light, and even more rapidly consumed by microorganisms (to the point that large spills are more of a problem due to oxygen depletion via microorganism bloom than any toxic effects of the acetone itself).

 

As for volume vs mass, volume is actually very important - what determines if a landfill is full is volume, not mass. Styrofoam recycling doesn't yet exist in my city, so if it's going to go to the landfill, it'd be best if it takes up the minimum volume.

 

Mokele

[YT2095]

polystyrene is used in Many plastic items, the Expanded variety is actually the minority of it`s usage by mass. </factoid>

[Sisyphus]

You could make some napalm. You know, for home defense.

[YT2095]

Sissy, Don`t make me give you a Hazmat warning, you KNOW what the giant Lizard`s like, don`t give him Ideas!

[CaptainPanic]

Well, evaporating the acetone would be fine - it's a naturally occuring chemical, a byproduct of chemical reactions that occur in most organisms. It's quickly broken down by UV light, and even more rapidly consumed by microorganisms (to the point that large spills are more of a problem due to oxygen depletion via microorganism bloom than any toxic effects of the acetone itself).

 

As for volume vs mass, volume is actually very important - what determines if a landfill is full is volume, not mass. Styrofoam recycling doesn't yet exist in my city, so if it's going to go to the landfill, it'd be best if it takes up the minimum volume.

 

Mokele

 

Ah. Yes. I always think that waste goes to the combustion, for electricity production. My little country is so full already that landfills are not so popular anymore. In the case of combustion, the volume obviously is much less of a problem.

[chao129]

Turns out many packing peanuts aren't even polystyrene. many just dissolve in water.