Styrofoam Blitz

They stick to your clothes, are devilishly difficult to sweep up and are lousy for the environment. Yet those ubiquitous, annoying Styrofoam pellets seem to swaddle just about every fragile object sent through the mail. Now Cal Garland, a Suwanee, Ga., lumberyard owner, has patented a machine that manufactures fluffy curls of paper-thin wood shavings that do the job just as well as polystyrene. And after the package is opened, just dump the wispy curlicues into your backyard: they also make a mighty fine mulch.