But it turns out silica packets are not overly harmful.
You see those little warnings all over the place: “do not eat,” “throw away,” and so forth. As you probably know, silica gel is used in various places - shoeboxes, pill bottles, even museum exhibits - to keep products dry this carefully manufactured substance is a desiccant that can adsorb up to 40 percent of its weight in moisture. In fact, Casie, I think you’ve unearthed the world’s first case of an industry overhyping its dangers, rather than downplaying or denying them. To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. The ASPCA also says silica gel is relatively harmless, unless large quantities are eaten by tiny animals. You are lovely to worry about wildlife eating these little packets, but you needn’t: I checked with two people from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), whose slightly bewildered responses amounted to, “No, not a concern.” We hope the solid-waste authorities there in La Verne are keeping your garbage under wraps, but even if they’re not, my NWF friends say animals would be unlikely to eat silica gel, because it’s odorless. I know those of us who care deeply about the planet tend to worry about throwing anything away, but I also occasionally encourage people to give themselves a break. I would not, of course, include silica gel or wads of cotton in said packages. I can think of a few others who might benefit from this miracle pill, too. While I admire your instincts and commitment, I wish I could invent a Take-a-Deep-Breath-It’ll-Be-Okay vitamin, mass produce it today, and mail you a case.
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