Can Packing Peanuts Be Used As Insulation

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