I seem to remember working for a pharmacy years ago and disposing of packing peanuts by putting them in the sink and dissolving them with hot water. Is that not a thing anymore?
Starch-based packing peanuts are will break down in water, unlike their polystyrene equivalents.
Some packing peanuts are apparently made of puffed up rice. It's a fun trick to pull on coworkers who don't know this and eat a bunch when you get a package.
as long as they're not imported and have been sprayed with pesticide.
Apparently the majority of the carbohydrates and nutrients have been removed too, probably not tasty without the pesticide zest.