What’s better than pizza? Pizza that comes in a box that can be recycled! As we celebrate National Pizza Day on February 9, 2025, the Paper and Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) is highlighting the recyclability of pizza boxes and their role in the Canadian paper packaging industry’s circular economy.

How is a Pizza Box Made (and Remade)?

Pizza boxes are typically made from corrugated board, which is made mostly from recycled content. But how does this process work?

It starts with us, the pizza lovers, aka the consumer, doing their part and emptying their pizza box by removing leftover food scraps and recycling them where accepted – and they are accepted in Blue Box recycling programs across Canada.

Once collected, those pizza boxes are sent to a Material Recycling Facility (MRF), where they will get separated from other recyclable materials. The sorted paper is then baled and sold, making their way back to paper packaging mills, where it is mixed with water in a pulper (like a big washing machine). This process breaks it down into fibre while removing inks, adhesives, and minor grease. The cleaned paper pulp is made into new sheets of recycled paperboard, which are sent to packaging converters to manufacture new pizza boxes and other paper packaging.

And just like the shape of your favourite pizza pie, the cycle repeats itself!

The average recycled content for domestic shipments of containerboard made in Canada – which is used to make corrugated board like pizza boxes – is over 80%, according to PPEC’s 2022 Recycled Content Survey, keeping valuable fibre materials in use and supporting a circular economy to managing paper packaging in Canada.

Clearing Up Some Cheesy Misconceptions

There has been some confusion over the years about whether pizza boxes can be recycled due to concerns about grease and cheese residue. However, if you remove leftover food, your pizza box is recyclable.

As for that grease, the heat of the recycling process usually gets rid of it. In a typical mill, the temperature of the paper sheet reaches up to 240°F – well above the boiling point of water and the temperature required for sterilisation – effectively eliminating any grease.

Studies show that typical levels of grease found on pizza boxes — less than 2% by weight — do not negatively impact the recycling process. According to WestRock’s study, Incorporation of Post-Consumer Pizza Boxes in the Recovered Fiber Stream: Impacts of Grease and Cheese on Finished Product Quality, when pizza boxes make up less than 3% of the recovered paper being processed, the strength of the recycled material remains virtually unchanged. Plus, any larger pieces of cheese are naturally filtered out during the pulping process. In short, pizza boxes are highly recyclable.

Consumers are a Key Ingredient in the Circular Economy

It is clear that the closed-loop recycling of pizza boxes works as long as consumers do their part.

Consumers play a critical role in recycling, and successful industry collaborations can help educate the public on how to properly recycle pizza boxes, ensuring valuable materials stay in the circular economy.

A recent partnership that caught PPEC’s eye was when Pizza Hut partnered with Smurfit Westrock to educate consumers on the recyclability of cardboard pizza boxes in the United States.

This collaboration between a brand and a packaging mill is a good reminder that the recycling value chain has many players – from manufacturers, brands, communities, consumers, and the waste management industry – and we all have a role to play in the responsible management and recycling of packaging materials.

PPEC has said it before, and we will say it again: It cannot be overstated how important the role of the consumer is to the success of recycling efforts. The more educated consumers are, the more likely they are to empty and sort their recyclables properly, which will result in cleaner materials, reduced contamination, less waste, and improved recycling outcomes.

This collaboration is a great example of how industry partnerships can help drive change and education by working together to empower consumers with clear information on what is recyclable.

The Last Slice

Thanks to the important act of recycling, it is likely that your pizza box has had multiple lives, and we want that to continue. This #NationalPizzaDay, don’t forget to recycle your empty pizza boxes so they can be turned into a new pizza box (and another, and another)!