pizza box

 

No recycling pizza boxes! That's right.

 

I learned this little fact about the un-recyclable pizza box awhile back on the Oprah show, but I regularly meet people who haven't heard. I know I was surprised myself when I found out.

According to the Ask Vanessa response to "Why Can't I Recycle Pizza Boxes?" over on the Mother Nature Network, "Food, it turns out, is one of the worst contaminants in the paper recycling process." Oh no!

Vanessa goes on to say, "Whole batches of otherwise recyclable paper end up in the landfill because of spoilage due to food." Ugh.

Of course, that doesn't mean you have to give up pizza to be green. No way!

Good alternatives to tossing the cheesy pizza box:

  • Recycle the top of your box if it's clean
  • Better yet, if you're going to order pizza, make it a family outing and eat it at the pizzeria (not the most relaxing option, I know, when you have toddler twins or even just one toddler like mine)
  • Buy frozen pizza, which usually has a cardboard outer box that can be recycled (and it's so much cheaper!)
  • Make your own pizza (even using pre-made dough)
  • Compost that pizza box (remove cheese the best you can if you're not set up to compost dairy products)

Mmmm, did someone say pizza?

 

+++ Share your recycling tips. Not everyone knows what you may know about recycling.