The Myth About Recycling Greasy Pizza Boxes People Need To Stop Believing

Whether or not to toss a pizza box into the recycling bin has long been a difficult question. It seemed like common sense to do so when recycling programs were first taking off, seeing as most pizza boxes are made of readily-recyclable corrugated cardboard; but then stories started dropping about how grease leaching into the cardboard meant that boxes were fit only for the garbage. For those who sent their pizza boxes to the landfill with a heavy heart, however, that disappointment is due to disappear. Studies have shown that pizza boxes are indeed recyclable. As shocking as this may be, the American Forest & Paper Association actually published guidelines about the recyclability of pizza boxes back in 2021 based on a study by WestRock, one of the largest recyclers in North America. 

According to the study, while grease seeping into the cardboard and bits of cheese left on the box could theoretically cause problems with the recycling process, the quantity of these residues are far too little to markedly reduce the quality of the material. Analyses showed that the cardboard would need to be about 20% grease by weight before the recycled material is significantly impacted, with WestRock estimating that used pizza boxes were only around 1-2% grease by weight, on average. Additionally, any cheese left on the box should be removed similar to other potentially problematic materials that are often attached to post-consumer cardboard, such as packing tape and staples.

Unfortunately, despite this study being published half a decade ago, the narrative has not yet caught up with the facts, with many online resources and municipalities still citing pizza boxes as being non-recyclable.

Americans may be eating less pizza than they used to, but we still go through roughly three billion pizza boxes each year, so we are talking about a pretty significant resource question here. That is about 600,000 tons of cardboard going into the garbage annually that could instead be processed for reuse. The inventor of the pizza box would surely like to think that its innovation was not just creating another waste product.

Now, recycling facilities do vary, but this pizza box situation could call for some action by citizens. Start by checking the guidelines with your local recycling facility. You can probably find them online, but if not, pick up the phone. If the listed suggestion is still to toss the greasy side of the pizza box in the garbage, point them in the direction of the WestRock study and the guidelines from the American Forest & Paper Association. It may not be enough to sway things, but it never hurts to try. If enough voices reach out, facilities may reconsider their operating procedures and help save many thousands of tons of cardboard from the landfill.

While you wait for recycling facilities to change their guidelines, you can happily start adding your pizza boxes to that blue bin. If you want to be extra sure that at least some of the material gets recycled, order your pizza uncut or ask for a liner underneath. Otherwise, split the box and toss both halves in. The former methods will get less grease on the box, while the latter ensures that at least one piece is free from grease and ready to be remade under all directives.