That pizza delivery to your home will now help the environment and taxpayers as Burlington County collects pizza boxes as part of its curbside recycling program.
The move reflects new best practices among paper mills and cardboard manufacturing companies to accept materials with small amounts of grease, which can now be screened out during the pulping process so there’s little to no impact on quality.
The boxes must be clean of all food like cheese and large amounts of grease and cleared of wax paper or lining before being placed in a curbside recycling container.
County Commissioner Deputy Director Tom Pullion announced the new initiative, calling it a game changer for cardboard recycling. Nationwide, more than three billion pizzas are sold annually, amounting to more than 600,000 tons of corrugated cardboard.
“For decades, we’ve been forced to toss millions of pounds of cardboard into our landfill annually. Now, we can give those pizza boxes a second life,” said Pullion, liaison to the Department of Solid Waste and Recycling.
Residents are encouraged to download the county’s free Recycle Coach app for more information. It can be downloaded from iTunes or GooglePlay app stores and has information about what materials are accepted in curbside recycling. It also provides updates and alerts about collection schedules.
Information is also available on the Burlington County website at burlcorecycles.com or by calling (609) 499-1001.
