Don’t throw away the packing peanuts, they could charge your gadget

ONE MAN'S TRASH: Millions and millions of packing peanuts are used to protect fragile shipments every year, and scientists have discovered how to put them to good use.

Scientists have discovered a new technology that converts polystyrene packing peanuts into high performance carbon electrodes to make lithium-ion batteries. 

Inspiration for the research project came when equipment was being delivered to set up a new laboratory at Purdue University and the team wanted to put them to use.