Many of us will rely on shipping companies to get last-minute gifts into the right hands in time. But that can mean a pesky problem: What to do with the piles of packing peanuts once your goods safely arrive?

Expanded polystyrene foam (commonly known by the brand name Styrofoam) is less toxic than it used to be. More environmentally sound agents like pentane or carbon dioxide have replaced CFCs as a means of adding air to the foam.

Still, the foam is a major eco-offender. The expanded plastic, made from petroleum, takes hundreds of years to break down and can cause starvation in birds and marine wildlife, who mistake small bits for food.

Styrofoam can also endanger the workers who make it. Chronic exposure to styrene is associated with central nervous system damage, skin irritation and other complaints.

If you're left with bags of packaging peanuts, one option is to recycle. But don't put them in your curbside recycling bin. The Plastic Loose Fill Council's Peanut Hotline can help you find locations nearby that accept loose fill.

"We take in quite a bit of it," says Tony Demark, manager at Box Solution, a Seattle truck rental, mailing and shipping service. "We put them into a hopper, clean them, and put them into 4-cubic feet boxes." Demark says he sells 30 or more boxes of packing peanuts every year.

A better alternative? Skip Styrofoam. Protect fragile items with scrunched-up newspaper or magazine pages (use glossy ads to avoid ink bleeding). You can also try dissolvable cornstarch packaging or PaperNuts, which are made from recyclable post-consumer cardboard.

Once you've made the switch, email your favorite online retailers to let them know that you expect eco-friendly packaging with your order.

For a list of King County locations that accept packaging peanuts for recycling, click here. Want to increase your eco-impact when shipping? Check out Climate Counts' ranking of popular shipping companies.