Packaging materials is in almost every single product in the world that is shipped, is packaged to prevent damage in some way or form.
A growing number of companies shipping products on the internet the demand for packaging material has never been higher.
Some examples of packaging material include wrapping foam, packing peanuts, cardboard boxes, gaylords, pallets, and plastic bags.
Packing peanuts are a big one are probably the most discarded and yet are somewhat expensive to purchase a one yard bag of packing peanuts.
One source for packing peanuts I’ve also seen is shredded white styrofoam sheets. this is material that can be made from new construction waste and all that is needed to produce it is a shredder with a sizing screen and bagging system.
Cardboard gaylords are the 3ft square thick walled cardboard boxes, that are usually nailed to a wooden pallet. These retail new for about $50.00 – $100.00 each. They are often used for shipping plastic resin pellets. But many other industries use them as well. You can often get used ones for free or for a small nominal charge, and resell them to other industries that use them to ship bulk items.
Used pallets can often be resold or repaired and resold. One bad thing however is reselling pallets that have been imported from overseas. Unfortunately some of these may contain insect hitchhikers and can devastate local environments. There are new laws going into effect essentially requiring these pallets to be shredded or incinerated to help stop this problem. But there is a flip side to this the pallets deemed unsafe to resell can be recycled into fuel pellets