Used pizza boxes are technically recyclable, even if they’re stained with grease or cheese, according to the American Forest & Paper Association, but not all recycling facilities will accept them. Now Domino’s is launching a new website feature that will help customers figure out if their communities offer the option of pizza box recycling.
The look-up tool on recycling.dominos.com uses zip codes to provide consumers with an answer on whether they can recycle the pizza boxes at their home or in communities they’re visiting. However, the answers aren’t always clear-cut. Search results on some zip codes state, “Recycling guidelines in your area suggest that corrugated boxes are accepted. However, it is not explicitly stated … Recycling guidelines in your area should be updated to explicitly state their acceptance.”
According to a press release, Domino’s “wants to increase the amount of pizza boxes entering the recycling stream.” Recycling programs for pizza boxes are available to an estimated 73 percent of the U.S. population, according to a Resource Recycling Systems access study commissioned by WestRock in the fall of 2019. But consumers have been long told that these boxes can’t be recycled, and many end up getting discarded as trash.
“We have heard a lot of excitement from customers about pizza boxes being recyclable. However, sometimes they were confused about their local regulations,” said Jenny Fouracre, director of public relations for Domino’s. “This new tool on our recycling site should help to clarify the local regulations. We are also really happy to see communities nationwide communicating more clearly to residents that they do want pizza boxes in their recycling bins instead of the garbage cans.”
Domino’s and WestRock are both members of The Recycling Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to improving accessibility to and quality of recycling. Domino’s, WestRock and a second box supplier, Pratt, partnered to fund The Recycling Partnership’s development of materials for municipalities to update their recycling programs to include pizza boxes.
