Can You Recycle Pizza Boxes and Reduce Waste

You can recycle pizza boxes, but there's a catch. Most pizza boxes are made from a combination of paper and wax, which can make them tricky to recycle.

The type of paper used in pizza boxes is often a mixture of virgin and recycled fibers. This blend is designed to provide strength and durability for the box's corrugated structure.

However, the wax coating on pizza boxes can contaminate the recycling process, making it difficult to recycle them. This is why many pizza boxes end up in landfills instead of being recycled.

Some pizza places are starting to use eco-friendly packaging alternatives, such as biodegradable boxes or containers made from plant-based materials. These options can make a big difference in reducing waste.

Readers also liked: Order Pizza Boxes

You can recycle empty pizza boxes if they're clean and not saturated with sauce, oil, or cheese. This is because the cardboard itself is recyclable, but the contaminants make it non-recyclable.

If your pizza box is coated with oil, sauce, or cheese, it's best to cut out the clean cardboard from the dirty parts. This way, you can still make a difference and help reduce landfill waste.

It's likely that the top and sides of your pizza box are still clean if they haven't come into contact with the pizza. This means you can recycle the entire box, minus the dirty parts.

By separating the non-recyclable material from the clean cardboard, you can make a small difference and help reduce landfill waste.

Readers also liked: Wine Storage Boxes Cardboard

Before you start recycling your pizza box, it's essential to check for signs of grease, oil, sauce, or cheesy debris. Any dirty material must be set aside for trash collection.

If the top of the pizza box is clean, you can cut it away from the bottom of the box and recycle the clean pieces.

You can also tear the clean cardboard into shreds and use it as dry matter in your composting bin.

To ensure you're recycling correctly, remember that only clean, dry cardboard can be recycled.

For more insights, see: Stretch Wrap Recycling

You can recycle pizza boxes, but it's essential to check the rules in your area first. In North Jersey, for example, some counties don't accept pizza boxes at all, while others only accept certain parts of the box.

To recycle your pizza box, start by checking if it's clean and free of grease, oil, sauce, or cheese. If it's dirty, set it aside for trash collection.

If your pizza box is coated with oil, sauce, cheese, etc., it renders those parts of the cardboard non-recyclable. You can make an extra effort and cut the clean cardboard away from the dirty cardboard.

In every North Jersey county, the wax paper that often comes inside pizza boxes must be removed. It is not recyclable with the rest of the box.

Here are some general guidelines to follow:

About 3 billion pizza boxes are used in the U.S. each year, and our industry wants these boxes back to recycle. By recycling your pizza box, you can help reduce landfill waste and make a small difference.

You might like: Custom Pizza Boxes No Minimum