So which is worse, using synthetic “peanuts” to ship or shredded newspaper?  In the book “The Consumers Guide to Effective Environmental Choices” from the Union of Concerned Scientists, Drs. Brower and Leon give you easy to apply tips on how to lower your impact on the environment. Instead of suggesting that we go back to living in caves, the authors focus on which things make the most impact on the environment and how the decisions we make on the major things are vastly more important than small ones.

The answer to the question?  Actually, there really isn’t much of a difference. While the synthetic peanuts are slightly more toxic than the newspaper, their weight difference means lower fuel costs in transportation of products so its a wash.