Packaging: When 'Please Recycle' is Not Enough

Frozen Pizza – Click to Search

This is the label created for “E9ZO’s Frozen Pizza,” which is comprised of a frozen food box, a cardboard base below the pizza, and a plastic film. Here’s what you need to know when trying to recycle this set of materials:

• Frozen food boxes have a thin layer of plastic coating on them (to protect the food and package from the harsh environment in the freezer, damage from condensation, etc.), which means they can’t always be recycled with typical mixed paper.
• Plastic film typically needs to go in a special collection (like at your local grocery store), rather than a curbside bin.
•  Because the corrugated cardboard base under the pizza is typically used during cooking, this paper is contaminated by the oil from the cheese and can’t be recycled.

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