Howdy All-

I just dropped by a local gardening center and found nothing interesting until I spotted their dumpster. It was overflowing with light, fluffy packing material from some shipping boxes they had unloaded (heavy but fragile planters, etc).

It appears to be some kind of shredded wood product. It looks a bit like mounds of dehydrated rice noodles, lol. If you're familiar with the movie "A Christmas Story" it's kind of like the stuff the dad digs through to find his precious leg lamp, but more high tech in the way it was created/processed. It's a very light beige/yellowish color and the long, slightly stiff strands of the stuff tangle with each other to make matted and cushy clumps.

Anyone know what this is? If it's some kind of leftover wood that's been processed into fluffy packing material wouldn't it make excellent composting material or mulch for wintering plants? They had enormous amounts of it and always get more whenever they receive shipments of heavy breakable items.

I shoved a bunch into my van and will experiment with it, but I'd love any input from anyone who has experience with this stuff.

Joe