Correct Way to Recycle a Pizza Box Cartoon

Cartoon on How to correctly Recycle a Pizza Box

Another multipanel cartoon (which you people love to see and I hate to make) on the proper way to Recycle a used pizza box.  This is another comic that comes from real life.

It was only about a year ago that I learned that before you recycle a pizza box, you are supposed to cut out the grease stain.  Supposedly grease can’t be recycled (at least in that way).   So has it changed my behavior?  No!  Unlike the cartoon, I still throw the whole thing in the recycling bin.  Let them figure it out at the plant, my conscience is clear.

Comments

86 responses to “Correct Way to Recycle a Pizza Box Cartoon”

  1. Marieke Avatar

    Haha, I must admit I throw the whole box in the recycling bin too! 🙂

    1. Bearman Avatar

      Ha I am not the only one

  2. Carlo Avatar

    Geez, I didn’t even know that. Once again, Bearman Cartoons has made my life richer!
    And I’ll probably do the same and just throw the whole thing into the recycling bin. 🙂

    1. Bearman Avatar

      I am a wealth of information

      1. 25BAR Avatar

        I didn’t know that either!

  3. Jande Avatar

    Meh, we make our own pizzas. So my conscience is clear, too. :`D

    1. Bearman Avatar

      Does your pizza taste like cardboard? Haha j/k

      1. Jande Avatar

        No. that’s the store-bought kind, cardboard with tons of salt. which is why we make our own,. :`D

        1. Bearman Avatar

          Send me some…in a box.

          1. Jande Avatar

            I would, but by the time you got it you wouldn’t be able to tell the pizza from the box so may as well get you’re usual. ;`)

          2. Bearman Avatar

            Freeze it, pack it in dry ice and I’ll cook it..haha so lazy am I.

  4. Warren Frantz Avatar

    I’m enlightened and P.O.’d at the same time. Either we all need to change our life styles (which is nearly impossible… Pizza is so good!) or they need to engineer the recycling plants so they can handle a bit of extra grease! Quit making the right thing to do so difficult, morals police!

    1. Bearman Avatar

      That’s why some pizza places put some type of wax paper on the bottom

  5. quarktime Avatar
    quarktime

    I do the same thing. (Except my conscience is clear.)

    1. Bearman Avatar

      haha.. Thanks Quark!

  6. Colleen from Tix-Comix Avatar

    Same conundrum as when you used to have to scrape the labels off tin cans and flatten them. Now you can just toss ’em in the bin labels and all.

    Luckily we have very progressive recycling here in Oregon. You can put greasy pizza boxes and soiled paper towels in the organic waste along with your grass clippings destined to be composted. At our curbside recycling facility they have employees who go through the waste stream and they probably toss out all the greasy pizza boxes. They are fine for compost but they are a contaminant if the paper is to be turned into new paper. My daughter works at a pizza place so she has developed a healthy distaste for pizza. I can’t eat it due to wheat intolerance, and my husband eschews bread for his waistline. Really when you think about it, pizza is mostly BREAD!

    1. Bearman Avatar

      There is a chain here called Naked Pizza and I remember in North Carolina a place called Z’s Pizza. Both have gluten free pizza so you need to tell your daughter to get her pizza place with the program.

      But I can relate. It took me 5 years to eat at Perkins after I worked there because I knew how the food was prepared.

  7. George Avatar

    They’re starting to get more and more stringent about these recycling rules. I hate all of the new stipulations. They’re lucky if i pour ALL of the water out of my water bottles before I return them to the recycling center for cash.

    And that’s the only way I recycle is for cash. I’m not one of those environmentally-obligated dudes who just likes to look out for nature. Pay me, or I’m tossin’ it outta my car window right into your front yard, grease stain and all. 😀

    1. Bearman Avatar

      Pay you. Oh you Californians. I thought you did everything for the environment. No wonder your state is broke (along with the rest of ours) But still. You waste more money. I recycle because every six month I drive past the county dump and see all the crap that gets thrown away.

  8. Tony McGurk Avatar

    Here in Tasmania we aren’t even allowed to put them in the recycle bin. Love your multi-panel comics. We even have to remove the caps from bottles before we chuck them in. Plus they go around doing random checks on bins & if they find yours “contaminated” with unacceptable stuff your bin gets a violation sticker. 3 stickers & something bad happens but I can’t remember what the consequences are. I can just imagine being in prison & some rough tough serial killer asks you what you’re in for & you reply, “I left the cap on a Coke bottle”

    1. Bearman Avatar

      You should do that as a cartoon. That would be funny.

      I think we are supposed to remove the caps too but again…I don’t. It all goes in. But on the bright side I am keeping recycling sorters in a job.

      1. Friggin Loon Avatar

        Just ask for no grease when you order. Problem solved!

      2. Tony McGurk Avatar

        Good idea, I’ll put it in my notebook

    2. Friggin Loon Avatar

      Thank god I got out of Tasmania when I did 🙂

  9. nursemyra Avatar

    I just checked on my local council’s website

    “Yes, pizza boxes can be recycled. Just scrape off any chunks of food before you pop it into your recycling bin. A little grease is okay.”

    *phew*

    1. Bearman Avatar

      Tasmania’s rules obviously haven’t made it over to you all yet.

  10. James Avatar

    I thought you were supposed to make the homeless eat your left over pizza boxes.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      I tried to give someone my leftovers once…he thought I was nuts.

  11. Binky Avatar

    I just eat the grease spot.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      You didn’t notice where the pizza in my cartoon came from?

      1. Binky Avatar

        Of course I noticed!!

        Okay, so maybe I didn’t. I hope you’re not saying my pizza is greasy!

        1. Bearman Avatar

          Oh not at all. Just you would eat so much that you probably need your own place. Do they make chocolate pizza?

          1. Tony McGurk Avatar

            Ahhh… I only just noticed the “Binky’s Pizza” on the box.

          2. Binky Avatar

            At Binky’s Pizza Palace, chocolate pizza is king! We also make the regular kind for humans.

          3. Bearman Avatar

            I knew that had to be on the menu

    2. Nef Avatar

      But you are the owner of the Pizza Place!!!

  12. Comedy Plus Avatar

    I do the very same thing. I’m not messing with that grease stain either. You want me to recycle then you cut the grease stain out.

    Have a terrific day. 🙂

    1. Bearman Avatar

      You are lazy..haha

  13. Chris K Avatar

    Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. 🙂

    1. Bearman Avatar

      Best for whom or is it who? I never figured that one out.

      1. Binky Avatar

        Whom.
        (If you can substitute “him” for “who” then it should be “whom”.)

        1. Bearman Avatar

          ahhh..thank you Professor Binky. Good way to remember it.

  14. G Avatar

    Sounds like my place of employment. Now we have to separate our trash from our recyclables, which means that every day I have to bring in a trash bag to throw my trash in ’cause the trash can that we got is only good for recycling.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      I would find an empty office and take their can so I would have two.

  15. SpilledInkGuy Avatar

    Wait…
    I’m not supposed to be eating the box, too?!
    🙂

    1. Bearman Avatar

      Only the high fiber ones.

      1. Binky Avatar

        All of the boxes from Binky’s Pizza are high fiber.

          1. Binky Avatar

            Well it’s not Binkyfiber!

  16. Bo Lumpkin Avatar

    We don’t send nothin’ off to recycle. If we can’t find a use for it then it ain’t no good to nobody. Pizza boxes are great for burnin’ brush and stuff. I know that might pollute the air but hey…at least I’m recyclin’.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      I can see your place with tons of glass jars used a plant holders.

      1. Bo Lumpkin Avatar

        Truck tires make good planters. 🙂

        1. Bearman Avatar

          You’ll have to show us a picture

    2. lisleman Avatar

      Oh yeah recyclin’ carbon in the air – cough

  17. JerryBenedict Avatar

    I’ll admit, if the grease spot isn’t too bad, I’ll recycle it. If it’s a huge spot, it goes into the trash. I would say we usually recycle about 80% of the stuff we throw away… but we’re good old fashioned tree huggers.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      I am much better at it than my wife. We used to have a bucket that we might fill up once a week. Now we have a giant can that we can’t make it till the recycling guy comes every two weeks without it overflowing.

  18. Ahmnodt Heare Avatar

    Where I live, pizza boxes have to go in the trash. It’s not just the grease, but apparently crumbs and cheese also do some kind of damage tot he recycling plants.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      Man you got some touchy machines in your parts. As President I hope you will work on this.

  19. Mark Stokes Avatar

    One man’s trash is a recycler’s displeasure. What’s the world coming to when even our trash is not good enough?

    1. Bearman Avatar

      It’s when the garbage man rejects you that you know you have real problems.

  20. DadaHyena Avatar

    I’m still fighting an uphill battle trying to get my housemates to recycle at all, so something like this is probably not going to fly over well.

    I have to admit, I’ve never heard of the ‘cut out the grease’ rule (except when I dab my pizza with a napkin…what?! That’s even more grease!).

    1. Bearman Avatar

      You know you are a heart attack waiting to happen when the greasy napkin weighs more than the slice of pizza.

      1. DadaHyena Avatar

        The next ad slogan for Domino’s? Seems accurate.

        1. Bearman Avatar

          Hey I like Dominos new recipe.

  21. jynksie Avatar

    I do what you do, I throw it all in and let the recycle plant worry about it. We have “no sort recycling” in these parts, so it all goes into a bin they have to sort out anyways when it gets there. Not sure how popular this method is around the planet.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      Based on my scientific research (of all of you), I would say the cut method is non existent.

  22. lisleman Avatar

    I often will rip the greasy half off and throw it in garbage but certainly don’t see why anyone would try to cut out the greasy spot. The boxes are easy to rip in half.
    But let me say this – Congrats on making a cartoon and post out of an old pizza box. Also, I never imagined I would comment about such a subject.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      That is probably the most logical thing to do if you are strong like you and can rip cardboard in half.

  23. MC/Curtis Avatar

    Hey! They stole Binky’s pizza!
    What are these recycling machines made of? I would have assumed big metal grinding teeth and shredding parts not wet noodles and plastic staples. Why does it mess up the machines or the process? Does it matter if the recycled paper is one percent grease and stuck on cheese? Inquiring minds want someone else to do the research and then present it to them.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      OK. Mr too lazy to google it. From this article http://earth911.com/news/2009/03/02/the-pizza-box-mystery/

      “Food is one of the worst contaminants in the paper recycling process. Grease and oil are not as big of a problem for plastic, metal and glass, as those materials are recycled using a heat process. But when paper products, like cardboard, are recycled, they are mixed with water and turned into a slurry. Since we all know water and oil don’t mix, the issue is clear.

      Grease from pizza boxes causes oil to form at the top of the slurry, and paper fibers cannot separate from oils during the pulping process. Essentially, this contaminant causes the entire batch to be ruined. This is the reason that other food related items are non-recyclable (used paper plates, used napkins, used paper towels, etc).”

      1. MC/Curtis Avatar

        Thanks Bearman! Well there you have it.
        The more you know.
        Now I guess maybe you won’t be too lazy to cut up a pizza box, Mr. too lazy.

  24. faythe @ GrammyMouseTails Avatar

    I think I tried to recycle a used pizza box once & they tossed in the regular trash… so that is what I do, without remorse!

    1. Bearman Avatar

      I still have remorse..

  25. The Good Greatsby Avatar

    I agree with you. If the earth wants to be saved, it’s got to make a bit more of an effort to meet us half way.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      It does. That is why the ocean tends to wipe out the houses of the rich folk who think it is cool to build on the beach.

  26. Young American Wisdom Avatar

    I thought the grease made it biodegradable.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      grease and water dont mix

  27. Goeber.com Avatar

    I throw it in the recycling to. It’s so big.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      we are baaaaad

  28. planetross Avatar

    What am I going to do with that box of grease I have outside?

  29. Hjörtur Avatar

    I throw the box in the recycling 🙁

  30. business daily Avatar

    Many people assume that pizza boxes are recyclable. In fact, most boxes have recycling symbols on them and are traditionally made from corrugated cardboard. They are, in and of themselves, recyclable.

  31. Joe Avatar
    Joe

    So a small amount of a substance biodegradable enough to eat wrecks cardboard to point of being unrecyclable. Fascinating.

    1. Bearman Avatar

      The way someone explained it to me is the grease. Cardboard is recycled using water…water and grease don’t mix.