Pizza Boxes Answered!
posted in Recycling Rules by Marissa Begley
The age old question…. Can you recycle pizza boxes?
Yes…and No…
The cardboard that makes up a pizza box by itself is safe to recycle, but often times the gooey cheese and grease from our pizzas make it difficult to recycle. Follow this step by step guide to determine if your pizza box can be recycled:
- Eat your pizza.
- Throw away the wax or paper liner (if included).
- Scrape out leftovers.
- If minimal grease on the box, Recycle the whole thing!
- If food is stuck to the box or it’s soaked in grease, check to see if the top is clean, if yes, rip the top off and recycle it. If not, trash the box.
When you try to “sneak” your contaminated pizza box in with the recycling, it actually does more harm than good. Contamination in the recycling business is a big problem, and food is one of the worst contaminants out there. When paper products like cardboard are recycled, they are mixed with water and turned into a “pulp”. Water and oil don’t mix, and this creates an issue that can ruin an entire recycling batch! When in doubt please keep it out.
Have something else you’re not sure about? Use our handy Where Do I Take This tool to search the database of local places you can recycle almost anything! If you don’t see what you’re looking for, just ask us.