Think Twice About That Pizza BoxWhen people see me at birthday parties or holiday gatherings, they think I’m watching their every move when it comes to recycling. (OK, maybe I do cringe a little when they have a stack of Styrofoam cups on the counter). It is a delicate balancing act between educating and being too preachy.
As long as there is no food or grease on the box, feel free to toss it in with your other recyclables. You just may have to rip off the top of the box (assuming it is food remnant free!) Tags: biodegradable, bottle caps, carbon footprint, change, changes, climate change, compost, decompose, earth, earth promise, earthpromise, eco-blogger, eco-friendly, energy, environment, environmental, environmental footprint, environmental issues, fakeplasticfish, global warming, grease, green, green changes, green future, green hour, green living, green practice, green practices, green revolution, green tips, nature, organic, pizza, pizza box, pizza grease, plastic, plastic bags, recycle, reduce, reuse |
My friends feel quite proud of themselves when they leave their empty pizza boxes stacked in their recycling bins. I mean, why not? The boxes often do have the chasing arrows symbol on the box (showing that the box has been made from recycled materials), but unfortunately the grease from the pizza contaminates the cardboard rendering it unrecyclable. And not just the box becomes unrecyclable, but the other paper that sits with it waiting to be recycled becomes ruined.
In Seattle (and hopefully in other communities) you can now put your food soiled paper, including pizza boxes, in the yard waste bin which will then be composted. This is a great alternative since food soiled paper cannot be put in with regular paper recycling.