Pizza boxes: Compost or Recycle?

Are you a pizza lover who leads a zero waste lifestyle? I know you couldn’t resist eating pizza just like me. So, you’ve ordered your favourite pizza with extra cheese! It sounds delicious while eating but when you see the pizza boxes after finishing your pizza, it’s quite frustrating to see the grease on them.

DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no additional cost to you.

Table of Contents

So, what to do with your pizza boxes?

Should I compost or recycle the pizza box? The best option is to compost the pizza boxes at least for me.

Why? Aren’t they recyclable? I’ll tell you the reason, keep reading.

Are pizza boxes recyclable?

Yes, they are recyclable but they are not the ideal option.

We all know that the cardboard boxes can be recycled as well as composted based on their condition. And the mouth-watering pizza comes in the cardboard boxes. Keep this in mind, when the cardboard is not in good condition, it should not be recycled.

It is also the same for the paper. You should never recycle the paper when it is contaminated by food like grease.

Why you should not recycle greasy paper products?

I know that recycling paper is a great option to reduce the demand for trees in the production of paper and its products. But do you know what will happen when you put the greasy paper in the recycle bin? You’ll spoil the entire paper in that batch that is about to recycle. Yes, during the paper recycling process, the papers are added to water to make the slurry. And when they are in the pulping process, oils cannot be separated from the paper fibers. Unknowingly, you’ll make a huge mistake which leads the entire batch into the landfills.

If the pizza box is free of grease, you can absolutely recycle them. Some people suggest that you can cut off the grease area in the pizza box either from the top or the bottom of the cardboard (especially at the bottom) and recycle it. But to be frank, I’m quite scared to do that and so I’ll always compost my pizza box rather than recycling it.

How to avoid grease in the pizza boxes?

Once the pizza arrived, do a fast check to see whether the pizza box is greasy or not. If the pizza didn’t make the box greasy just move the pizza to the plates as soon as the pizza arrives at your home. By this way, you can avoid the grease from the box.

Whether the pizza box is greasy or not, it’s always better to transfer the pizza to the plates.

How to compost your pizza boxes?

Don’t the greasy layer on the pizza box attract pests? Yes, it may attract but in order to avoid that we can do a simple thing.

Chop the pizza box into smaller pieces in order to speed up the process. And just bury the pizza box one foot down in your compost pile. If you’re into vermicomposting, the worms will be more than happy to welcome our pizza box. Yes, who says no to pizza in this world? 😊

Other options:

So, if you’re a person using the public biodegradable trash cans to dispose of your household biodegradable items, you can put your pizza box in them too. Usually, you can find the biodegradable trash cans in green colour in countries like US and UK. But the colour differs from country to country. Hence make sure to do a quick research on the colours of the trash bins and how the government is using the biodegradable waste in your country.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Are domino’s pizza boxes compostable?

Yes, they are made of cardboards so definitely yes.

Can you recycle domino’s pizza boxes?

Yes, they can if they are free from the food contaminants. Just follow the tips which I’ve mentioned above.

Are frozen pizza boxes recyclable?

You can recycle them if they are not coated with plastic because it’s quite impossible to break them during the recycling process. But I don’t buy any frozen food items as they are not good for your health.

If you’ve any further questions, let me know in the comments.

You may also read:

10 easy Zero waste swaps you can make today

Zero waste living | Beginner’s Guide

5 Eco-Friendly Food Storage Containers & Cookware

Tomato Ketchup Recipe – Fresh & Homemade

Homemade Mayonnaise Recipe – With & Without egg

Hot Chocolate Recipe – Homemade & Zero Waste

Chocolate chip cookies recipe – Vegan | No Oven

Zero waste Christmas – A sustainability guide

Homemade Moisturizers for dry skin in winter

Homemade deodorant – Complete natural