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I was thinking about this yesterday when I saw a pizza box with the recyclable symbol on it. It's infuriating that intelligent people can't seem to understand t

I was thinking about this yesterday when I saw a pizza box with the recyclable symbol on it. It's infuriating that intelligent people can't seem to understand that pizza boxes aren't recyclable after they've had pizza in them. What about oil soaked cardboard says "recyclable" to people?

nineplay 5y ago
I think the relationship between food and recycling is justifiably unclear to most people. Can you recycle cans of refried beans? Prior to today I would have thought yes, but now I see I'm supposed to rinse them. For refried beans I'm already wondering about the water wasted washing the can vs. the benefit of recycling it. I live in a drought region so I'm probably going to chuck it. Cardboard sandwich containers? Is there a go/no-go depending on how much mayonnaise had dripped out? It's no surprise people are confused.
- jonahhorowitz 5y ago
  Your recyclables don't need to be particularly clean when they go in the bin. Just clean enough that they won't make everything else in the bin dirty (particularly paper). During the last drought in California, San Jose asked people to stop washing their recycling since it already gets washed in one way or another as part of the recycling process. In your can example, it's going to get smelted down and anything organic is going to burn off. - https://ecology.wa.gov/Blog/Posts/June-2019/Recycle-Right-How-empty-is-empty-enough-How-clean https://ecology.wa.gov/Blog/Posts/June-2019/Recycle-Right-Ho...
- billytetrud 5y ago
  The giant recylcing symbol on a lot of pizza boxes sure doesn't help.
- asdff 5y ago
  If you live in a drought region even if everyone in the entire region rinsed their refried bean cans that probably wouldn't push the needle on water use on a statistically significant level. Industry is who is causing the drought, not your lawns and swimming pools and long showers, despite what the narrative in the industry funded press might say. When you look at the actual water use data from state agencies devoid of editorial bias, this conclusion is obvious.
thih9 5y ago
Sample size one, but my pizza boxes don't end up being oil soaked. I might order pizzas with less oil, or it could be a different way of handling. I also recall a bit of parchment under the pizza that helps keep the box free of oil.
- billytetrud 5y ago
  I guess if you actually keep food material off the cardboard you put into the recycling, it should be fine. The vast majority of pizza boxes I've seen have way too much food material on them to be recyclable. TBH paper is hardly worth recycling in the first place. Sure it saves trees, but it adds a ton more chemical waste and produces low quality paper.
- MarkLowenstein 5y ago
  I like the system at MOD Pizza. They give you your pizza in a paperboard box, but they also put a thin sheet of waxy paper on the bottom of the box before they put the pizza in. So you throw out a minimal amount of paper, but the box is ready to recycle.
denton-scratch 5y ago
What infuriates me (along with all the other things!) is the practice of making packaging that consists of plastic bound to something else, e.g. foil. Or wrapping a plastic bottle in a film made from some other kind of plastic, that has had promotional material printed on it. Here, I can only recycle clear, colourless plastic (with the right recycling label). Of course, the promotional film has no recycling label, only the bottle itself. The printeed film can't be recycled. And it's the very devil to strip the film off the bottle. I have here a triangular sandwich pack made of cardboard; but with a plastic window glued to it. The window has no recycling label, but also it renders the box non-recyclable. I'm perfectly willing to sort my rubbish; but I'm not prepared to dismantle packaging that obviously wasn't meant to be dismantled - especially given that most "recycling" actually goes for incineration or landfill.
joecool1029 5y ago
It's infuriating to me that people like you keep perpetuating this myth. Pizza boxes, even contaminated with some oil and cheese are recyclable (just take any leftover pizza/crusts out). I have family in the recycling industry, here's research on the matter: https://www.westrock.com/greasecheesestudy https://www.westrock.com/greasecheesestudy
- billytetrud 5y ago
  Well, it seems you're right that soiled pizza boxes can be recycled: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/yes-you-can-recycle-your-pizza-boxes https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/yes-you-can-recycle-your-p... . But I think calling it a myth is not accurate. A significant fraction of recycling operations still refuse soiled pizza boxes (whether for good reasons or not), and it was widely held guidance until very recently that pizza boxes are not generally recyclable. So thanks for spreading the (relatively new) information!
- reaperducer 5y ago
  The trash company where i live specifically tells its customers that soiled pizza boxes can't be recycled. It's even on a sticker on the supplied recycling bin.

nineplay 5y ago

I think the relationship between food and recycling is justifiably unclear to most people. Can you recycle cans of refried beans? Prior to today I would have thought yes, but now I see I'm supposed to rinse them. For refried beans I'm already wondering about the water wasted washing the can vs. the benefit of recycling it. I live in a drought region so I'm probably going to chuck it. Cardboard sandwich containers? Is there a go/no-go depending on how much mayonnaise had dripped out? It's no surprise people are confused.

jonahhorowitz 5y ago
Your recyclables don't need to be particularly clean when they go in the bin. Just clean enough that they won't make everything else in the bin dirty (particularly paper). During the last drought in California, San Jose asked people to stop washing their recycling since it already gets washed in one way or another as part of the recycling process. In your can example, it's going to get smelted down and anything organic is going to burn off. - https://ecology.wa.gov/Blog/Posts/June-2019/Recycle-Right-How-empty-is-empty-enough-How-clean https://ecology.wa.gov/Blog/Posts/June-2019/Recycle-Right-Ho...
billytetrud 5y ago
The giant recylcing symbol on a lot of pizza boxes sure doesn't help.
asdff 5y ago
If you live in a drought region even if everyone in the entire region rinsed their refried bean cans that probably wouldn't push the needle on water use on a statistically significant level. Industry is who is causing the drought, not your lawns and swimming pools and long showers, despite what the narrative in the industry funded press might say. When you look at the actual water use data from state agencies devoid of editorial bias, this conclusion is obvious.

thih9 5y ago

Sample size one, but my pizza boxes don't end up being oil soaked. I might order pizzas with less oil, or it could be a different way of handling. I also recall a bit of parchment under the pizza that helps keep the box free of oil.

billytetrud 5y ago
I guess if you actually keep food material off the cardboard you put into the recycling, it should be fine. The vast majority of pizza boxes I've seen have way too much food material on them to be recyclable. TBH paper is hardly worth recycling in the first place. Sure it saves trees, but it adds a ton more chemical waste and produces low quality paper.
MarkLowenstein 5y ago
I like the system at MOD Pizza. They give you your pizza in a paperboard box, but they also put a thin sheet of waxy paper on the bottom of the box before they put the pizza in. So you throw out a minimal amount of paper, but the box is ready to recycle.

denton-scratch 5y ago

What infuriates me (along with all the other things!) is the practice of making packaging that consists of plastic bound to something else, e.g. foil. Or wrapping a plastic bottle in a film made from some other kind of plastic, that has had promotional material printed on it. Here, I can only recycle clear, colourless plastic (with the right recycling label). Of course, the promotional film has no recycling label, only the bottle itself. The printeed film can't be recycled. And it's the very devil to strip the film off the bottle. I have here a triangular sandwich pack made of cardboard; but with a plastic window glued to it. The window has no recycling label, but also it renders the box non-recyclable. I'm perfectly willing to sort my rubbish; but I'm not prepared to dismantle packaging that obviously wasn't meant to be dismantled - especially given that most "recycling" actually goes for incineration or landfill.

joecool1029 5y ago

It's infuriating to me that people like you keep perpetuating this myth. Pizza boxes, even contaminated with some oil and cheese are recyclable (just take any leftover pizza/crusts out). I have family in the recycling industry, here's research on the matter: https://www.westrock.com/greasecheesestudy https://www.westrock.com/greasecheesestudy

billytetrud 5y ago
Well, it seems you're right that soiled pizza boxes can be recycled: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/yes-you-can-recycle-your-pizza-boxes https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/yes-you-can-recycle-your-p... . But I think calling it a myth is not accurate. A significant fraction of recycling operations still refuse soiled pizza boxes (whether for good reasons or not), and it was widely held guidance until very recently that pizza boxes are not generally recyclable. So thanks for spreading the (relatively new) information!
reaperducer 5y ago
The trash company where i live specifically tells its customers that soiled pizza boxes can't be recycled. It's even on a sticker on the supplied recycling bin.