Eco Corner: Mystery Revealed - Pizza Box Recycling
A common question often asked about recycling is related to one of the region’s favorite foods – pizza. It is a fact that the City of Evanston’s recycling program does include corrugated cardboard. And most pizza boxes are made out of corrugated cardboard and will contain a visible recycling symbol on the outside of the pizza box.
So why can’t those pizza boxes be recycled? The problem is that our beloved pizza usually soils the cardboard with cheese and grease. The cheese and grease contamination make the pizza boxes non-recyclable, unless the tainted portions of the box are removed.
To understand this further, it is important to think about the paper and cardboard recycling process. When paper products like cardboard are recycled, they are mixed with water and turned into a slurry. The slurry is then used to make new paper products. When paper products are contaminated with grease or oil such as a pizza box, oil forms on the top of the slurry. Essentially this contamination can cause the whole batch to be ruined.
Many people admit trying to “sneak” their pizza boxes in with other cardboard boxes. The problem with this practice is that the contaminated pizza boxes have the potential to ruin a whole batch of cardboard recycling. The City of Phoenix has reported that contamination of cardboard costs them around $1 million annually, because of damage to machinery, disposal costs for the non-recyclable material and wasted time, materials and efficiency.
The solution to this contamination issue is actually a simple one: cut or tear out the soiled portions of your pizza boxes and trash them. The rest can be recycled. For example, you can tear off the top of the pizza box and put that in your recycling bin if it is free of grease and food. If the entire box is grease-free, the whole box can be recycled. Visit the city’s website for more information on recycling in Evanston here>>>