Are Pizza Boxes Recyclable?

What could be better on a Friday night than pizza and a movie?  How should the pizza box be disposed of when we’re done when it?

Pizza boxes are made of cardboard so they should be recyclable, right?  Well, yes and no.  Although most, if not all, recycling centers accept corrugated cardboard, it's actually the grease residue on the box that makes part, if not all of it, a trash item.

Generally the top of the pizza box remains clean and free of grease or food.  If this is the case, the top of the box can be torn off and placed into any recycling container. The bottom of the box where the pizza sits usually ends up with food or grease that has soaked into the cardboard.  It is this that makes the bottom of the box non-recyclable.

Once cardboard has been sorted out of the recycling stream, the materials are soaked in a mixture of water and chemicals designed to break down the paper fibers and create a pulp.

During this process, if there is any excess oil, grease or food particles, the mixture will be compromised since these substances don't mix well with water.  Foreign materials or substances can actually contaminate whole loads of cardboard.

If you are a Borden Waste-Away customer, we accept only clean cardboard free of grease or food for recycling.  If you are not a Borden customer, check with your local recycling facility to see what their requirements are for recycling pizza boxes.

For more information on recyclable items visit our website at www.wasteawaygroup.com