Biodegradable packing material

Alison Draper asks for biodegradable alternatives to synthetic foam.
Many of these exist, of course, from shredded paper to corn starch
foam 'snails', but the primary necessity is successful and safe
transit of the exhibits. What would happen if one of the
'biodegradable' packagings got wet and started to lose its
properties as it degraded?  I am not aware of any tests of possible
off-gases from these materials, and until they are researched, I
would be wary of their use. Why not use a re-usable packaging
instead, even though it might be made from synthetic material. The
best environmental option is to re-use or recycle, just allowing
things to biodegrade wastes a great deal of resources.




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                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:51
                Distributed: Wednesday, January 23, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-51-003
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