THE PROBLEM
CAN PIZZA BOXES BE RECYCLED… NO!
Pizza boxes used by pizza restaurants for delivery are typically made of cardboard material. This cardboard material may or may not be made from recycled materials, and these boxes may or may not be recyclable. Regardless, if these boxes are produced of recycled materials or if they themselves are recyclable, the majority of the population throws empty pizza boxes in the trash. Used pizza boxes are generally full of grease and left over bits of pizza, and most people find it easier to dispose of them than try to recycle them. Besides delivery, these pizza boxes are also used for carryout orders and to store leftover pizza. With the amount of pizza being consumed in the USA, there are most likely millions if not billions of pizza boxes going into landfills. Some pizza restaurants, for example, without limitation, food court restaurants, may use a box that is slightly different; however, these boxes also typically end up in a landfill. Furthermore, pizza boxes cause trash cans to fill up faster due to their bulk, and consumers must take their trash out more frequently. By taking the trash out more frequently, the consumer must use more plastic trash bags and the trash must be collected more regularly, which all causes more waste, pollution and landfill consumption. Accordingly, it would be desirable and useful to provide a pizza container that reduces waste, is good for the planet, and enables consumers to feel good about doing their part to protect the environment.
HOW PIZZA BOXES GET RECYCLED*
Many people assume they can recycle pizza boxes. In fact, most boxes have recycling symbols on them and are traditionally made from corrugated cardboard. They are, in an of themselves, recyclable.
However, what makes parts of them non-recyclable is the hot, tasty treat that comes inside them, specifically, the grease and cheese from pizza that soils the cardboard.
So there you have it, pizza boxes that are tarnished with food, or any paper product that is stained with grease or food, are not recyclable – unless you remove the tainted portions.
But why is this? And what are the implications for the general, pizza-loving public?
Mmm, pizza.
Food is one of the worst contaminants in the paper recycling process. Grease and oil are not as big of a problem for plastic, metal and glass, as those materials are recycled using a heat process. But when paper products, like cardboard, are recycled, they are mixed with water and turned into a slurry. Since we all know water and oil don’t mix, the issue is clear.
Grease from pizza boxes causes oil to form at the top of the slurry, and paper fibers cannot separate from oils during the pulping process. Essentially, this contaminant causes the entire batch to be ruined. This is the reason that other food related items are non-recyclable (used paper plates, used napkins, used paper towels, etc).
“The oil gets in when you’re doing your process of making paper,” said Terry Gellenbeck, a solid waste administrative analyst for the City of Phoenix. “The oil causes great problems for the quality of the paper, especially the binding of the fibers. It puts in contaminants, so when they do squeeze the water out, it has spots and holes.”
But what about other things regularly found on paper products, like ink? “Most inks are not petroleum-based so they break down fast. Food is a big problem,” he said.
Also, be mindful of adhesives that may be on pizza boxes (coupons, stickers, etc.) as those are contaminants. Known as “pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs)” these can ruin the recycling process just as much as oil or food remains.
SNEAKS
Many people admit trying to “sneak” their pizza boxes in with cardboard boxes and such. In reality, this does more harm than good as the contaminated cardboard could ruin the whole recycling batch.
In fact, contamination in the recycling business is a big problem. Some estimates put the costs of irresponsible contamination in the neighborhood of $700 million per year industry-wide. Gellenbeck estimates that for the City of Phoenix, contamination costs them around $1 million annually, because of damage to machinery, disposal costs for the non-recyclable material and wasted time, materials and efficiency. With the City processing 129,000 tons of materials in 2008 (around 7 percent of this is cardboard), money is an important factor as to why residents should know what their municipalities do and do not accept.
So What Do I Do?
The easiest remedy for this problem is to cut or tear out the soiled portions of your pizza boxes and trash them. For example, you can tear the top of the box off, recycle that and throw away the bottom part containing the grease. If the entire box is grease-free, the whole box can be recycled with a guilt-free conscience.
Another option to recycling cardboard is to compost it, although the grease rule still applies here as well. “Even with oils, you shouldn’t compost [greased cardboard]. It causes rotting, you get more bugs and smell and it’s just not good for the plants,” said Gellenbeck.
Most importantly, being well-versed on what your local recyclers accept, can make the biggest difference. “It all depends on where your processor sends your paper, too,” said Gellenbeck, whose authority applies only to the City of Phoenix. “If you can keep a particular thing like the food out, the plastics out, all those things that really shouldn’t be there, it would help.”
Reference: Planet 911 What can I NOT recycle at TCNJ?
TCNJ Can NOT Recycle These Items:
These all must be placed in the trash
-Paper Coffee Cups
-Pizza Boxes
-Textbooks
-Naked Juice Bottles
-Paper Towels
-Paper Plates
When trash is placed in a recycling container, the entire container is contaminated and must be treated as trash.
When recycling materials have been mixes with bulk trash, such as food waste, they are now considered contaminated and must be removed as bulk trash.
Common Contaminated Items that TCNJ can NOT Accept
-Anything that is contaminated by food
-Paper coffee cups
-Pizza boxes
-Food paper plates
-Textbooks
-Paper towels (these are mistaken for the paper recycling containers in the bathrooms)
-Pyrex glass
PCNJ The College of New Jersey Recycling Guidelines
DID YOU KNOW THAT PIZZA BOXES CAN’T BE RECYCLED?
Pretty much everyone loves pizza, that is, except for Mother Earth.
An environmentally-friendly pizza lover recently asked the Atlantic’s City Lab if pizza boxes were recyclable. Since they are cardboard, many of us may assume they can be broken down and reused for paper, insulation–or even more boxes.
But that’s not the case.
Darby Hoover, a resource specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, set the record straight on why you should stop dumping pizza boxes into the recycling bin.
Porous paper is “particularly susceptible to food and beverage contamination” and in comparison to other recyclables like cans it “ends up suffering the most from getting mixed with other materials,” she explained to CityLab.
Pizza boxes are tainted by gooey leftover cheese, toppings, and oily stains. The grease from pizza likely soaks into the cardboard–even if you’ve diligently scraped it off. Food and oil cannot be separated from the paper during the pulping process.
There is, however, an alternative for those with access to high-volume composts. Pizza boxes can be tossed in along with other organic waste. But if not, the box, along with any other soiled paper products like napkins and paper towels belong in the trash.
And what about the little plastic tripod used to prevent the pizza from being squished?
Hoover told CityLab that it’s probably not recyclable either since its difficult to tell what type of plastic polymer it’s really made of. Not all programs accept all hard plastics–but if yours does, go for it.
*Published May 05, 2015
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